The Theory and Practice of Upper Secondary Certification

Executive Summary

Upper secondary certificates are essential for education systems. They recognise students’ skills and facilitate access to higher education, training and work. As completion of upper secondary education has become the minimum expected level of attainment, this has accentuated pressure on the functions of upper secondary certificates. They must be at once more inclusive – recognising a broader range of skills and knowledge. Yet their selection function is also more important, as post-school education institutions and employers must identify the right candidates from larger pools than in the past. Given upper secondary certificates’ role as passports to life after school, they are often the subject of emotive debate. In this context, this OECD report provides an evidence-based perspective grounded in countries’ practice.

A matrix for upper secondary certificates

Almost all upper secondary certificates are composed of multiple tasks – such as exams, tests, projects, practical activities, etc. This report develops a matrix to capture the different components of upper secondary certificates. It maps the design of 71 certificates across 38 countries.

Assessment tasks

Across 38 education systems who participated in the mapping of upper secondary certificates, assessment tasks include:

• Examinations or tests (59 out of 71 certificates). The enduring popularity of exams and tests reflects their efficiency and effectiveness in assessing a large body of skills and knowledge. While exams are sometimes criticised for promoting memorisation by focusing on recall, they can assess higher order skills like applying knowledge and skills to interpret and analyse.

• Assessments determined by teachers (38 out of 71). Assessments developed by teachers may promote validity because they can be tailored to local and classroom contexts. However, without explicit policies, there is no system-wide visibility to ensure assessments are valid in practice.

• Practical activities and performances (39 out of 71) and projects and portfolios (32 out of 71). Such tasks tend to be relatively authentic and provide the only valid ways to assess the application and demonstration of some skills, e.g. practical skills. However, assuring their reliability can be highly resource intensive.

Assessment responsibilities

Responsibility for assessment captures who develops and marks a task. Across the 38 systems, certificates fall into three models:

• Certificates with external exams and no internal assessment (10 out of 71). These are rare and occur almost exclusively in general education. They tend to be used when certification is strongly tied to higher education selection with exams’ externality and standardisation promoting credibility.

• Certificates with internal assessment and no external exams (19 out of 71). Entirely internal certificates are predominantly used for vocational programmes, notably for direct entry to the labour market. Certificates in general education based entirely on internal assessment typically necessitate separate higher education entrance tests to facilitate fair comparison of students. Since higher education entrance tests are separate from school, students may use private tutoring to prepare for their specific content and format with implications for equity.

• Certificates with external exams and internal assessment (42 out of 71). A mixed approach enables certificates to support reliability and credibility through external components and more valid assessments of a diverse range of skills through internal components.

Balanced certificates use multiple tasks and internal and external assessment

Across the 71 certificates included in this report, most (57 out of 71) use multiple tasks. Combining a range of assessment tasks enables certificates to balance the merits of different tasks, compensate for their weaknesses and assess a broader range of skills.

External assessment is essential for credibility and facilitating selection for higher education

• Most certificates for general education include external exams (36 out of 45), which serve as trusted signals of achievement and facilitate selection of students.

• Externally developed and marked tasks are common when upper secondary certificates directly influence selection into higher education and especially when demand outstrips supply for meritocratic selection.

Analysis does not find a significant relationship between exams and mathematics anxiety

• Using new data about the shares of students taking exams in countries, the report does not find a significant relationship between the share of students taking exams and mathematics anxiety in PISA 2022.

• Perceived exam-related stress might be influenced by other factors including how exam results are used, frequency of other assessments, or may appear after the age of 15.

Internal assessments can promote perceived relevance

• Most certificates include a task that is developed and/or marked at the school level (59 out of 71). When teachers develop and mark tasks, a wider range of assessment formats can be used, supporting relevance by validly assessing complex skills.

• Teachers assessing their own students often make judgements beyond measuring the defined curriculum and may account for aspects like motivation and effort. This practice makes teacher assessment less reliable but might enhance predictive validity; teacher-based grades are found to be more predictive of students’ future success in higher education.

Relevant, credible and fair vocational certificates depend on assessments that recognise the unique value and skills of vocational programmes

• Parity across vocational and general upper secondary education certificates is not about assessing the same skills and providing the same pathways. Vocational upper secondary certificates must recognise the unique achievement and skills of students completing these programmes.

• Assessing students’ occupational skills through practical exams and workplace assessments and the involvement of professionals and employers can ensure that vocational certificates represent the skills and knowledge needed for vocational further education and employment.