The evaluation and assessment of a pupil’s knowledge is today an important part of a teachers work. The function of the evaluations for younger pupils (grades 1-3) has assumed a more prominent role in the school system due to the introduction of written assessments as well as national testing in grade 3. One of the purposes of this research has been to find out the teacher’s opinions of the written assessment in grade 3. My intention has been to study how teachers feel about assessment in general, what they assess as well as when and how they do it. I also wanted to find out when and how they used “formative” or “summative”assessments, respectively.

In the empiric research I have used qualitative, unstructured interviews with five professional teachers. All teachers interviewed work in the elementary school system (1-3) and have worked within this school system between 10-30 years. The material gathered from the interviews have been analyzed and categorized thoroughly in order to find various patterns.

The result of the research showed that the evaluations and assessments are used mainly to indicate each pupil’s individual scholastic development.  Some evaluations are, according to the teachers, included in the daily work with the pupils (and are formative), while other evaluations occur at special, less random occasions (and are summative). It was clear to me that the teachers don’t base their opinions of, and methods in assessment on research but on their long experiences as teachers. One major result from my study is that the teachers don’t look on assessment as being of any greater importance in the elementary school (grade 1-3).