School leaders warn rushed grading change harms students

Members of the Icelandic School Principals Association’s school affairs committee say the spring 2027 graduating class has been made a test group for poorly considered changes to the grading system, mbl.is reports. The criticism appears in an opinion article published by Vísir.

The authors say school staff, parents and the wider community face serious questions about the administration of education. They welcome a parliamentary committee’s decision to examine how the education and children’s minister decided on and implemented a shift from letter grades to numbers for 10th-grade students graduating in spring 2027.

The opinion article recounts that revisions to subject areas in the national curriculum for compulsory schools were completed in October 2024. In early 2026, the Centre for Education and School Services began helping schools put the revised curriculum into practice. Specialists, school leaders and teachers held weekly meetings for several weeks to coordinate their work and develop a shared understanding.

By the end of the 2025–2026 school year, schools had begun preparing teaching plans and school curricula for 2026–2027. The authors say that work was overturned during the summer by a ministerial decision that had been presented vaguely in the spring and was not announced until 7 August. Under the decision, 10th-grade students graduating in spring 2027 would receive grades on a 4-to-10 scale instead of letter grades.

The authors say changes to the national curriculum should not be rushed. They note that when Sweden decided to move from letter grades to a numeric scale, its education authorities allowed nearly three years to adapt the curriculum. The new scale is due to take effect there in autumn 2028.

A draft transitional provision in the government’s consultation portal says schools would use grades from 4 to 10 for the graduating class. A grade of 7 would mean that learning objectives had been met, while grades from 8 to 10 would reflect progressively greater depth, confidence and performance beyond the required level. Schools would also be expected to publish revised curricula by 10 January.

The authors say all grading scales have advantages and disadvantages, but poorly prepared changes do little or no good.