What happened
Students in independent schools, and particularly for-profit ones, receive higher grades than can be expected based on family background and local conditions. This is shown in a new doctoral dissertation from Uppsala University by researcher Tommie Rappe Petersson. The inflated grades are awarded despite independent schools having both lower teacher density and lower teacher qualifications than municipal schools. According to the researcher, the results indicate more generous grading rather than better teaching.
Our analysis
In the Swedish debate, the divides in schools are constantly portrayed as an integration problem. The blame is placed on new Swedes, their neighborhoods, and their parents. But the reality is that the system itself rewards cheating for the sake of profit.
When for-profit corporations award inflated grades with understaffed personnel, it is not the students who win. It is the shareholders. Those who pay the price are students in regular municipal schools, where many new Swedes struggle hard under honest demands only to see upper secondary school spots go to those who bought themselves a shortcut.
Grade inflation is not an administrative mistake. It is a business model that turns education into a market where those with the best connections are rewarded and the rest are left behind.
Explained
An independent school is run by a private owner, most often a limited company or a foundation, but is fully funded by taxpayers through the so-called school voucher.