The Oslo students want an end to everyday life with low grades

– The feedback we get from students is that they want to know how they are doing in the various subjects and that they are concerned about grades. The students find assessment without grades confusing, says Sania Aliza Saddique.

She attends Oslo Cathedral School and is head of the Central Youth Council. Next week, she is one of those who will present five cases to the Culture and Education Committee. The five cases are those that the Youth City Council Meeting (UBM) has decided that they want the Oslo City Council to advocate for.

One of them is therefore about grades.

Engaged the most

In the Education Act, it is stated that students must at least be assessed with a grade every six months. However, it has been up to the teachers and schools to decide how the mid-term assessment is carried out. In Oslo, a number of secondary schools and upper secondary schools have introduced fewer assessment situations with grades. The purpose has been to get the pupils to become more concerned with how they will continue to work in subjects, and not just the grade.

But now Ungdommen’s city council meeting will put an end to this.

UBM wants a trial project where all secondary schools and upper secondary schools give pupils oral, written and grade-based feedback. They are also in favor of anonymous written assessments in Oslo School to combat discrimination.

– Among the hundred or so cases that the Youth City Council meeting could put forward as one of the top five, no to character suppression was one of the cases that engaged the most, says Sania.

Surveys carried out by researchers at NTNU show the same tendency: The teachers are more positive about dropping the grades than the pupils.

– The students are concerned that the grades count when you apply for further study. I was almost a little surprised by the strong involvement in this case, says Sania.

Another issue the students are concerned about is that they want to keep a free school meal.

– Good for the school environment

Since 2022, pupils at upper secondary schools in Oslo have received one free school meal a day. In the autumn of 2023, it was also introduced in secondary schools. But the new city council has agreed that they want to remove this arrangement.

The students, on the other hand, think the meal is good for more than hungry bellies.

– At my high school, this is not just about getting free food, but about the social aspect of gathering around a meal. The school meal is also good for the school environment. And then we want the pupils to have more influence both on the choice of food and which meal is offered. Now some schools serve breakfast, while others serve lunch, says Sania.

In addition to keeping the meal, the young people want better food quality and less food waste. “Unfortunately, many people find that the food they get at school is not particularly tempting, tastes bad, or is even mouldy. Therefore, we also want to have more involvement in what we get to eat,” the proposal states.

UBM believes that provision should be made for pupils to help the staff in the canteen to prepare the food. They propose that it be an elective, to learn about cooking and sustainable development of the food industry.

– Do you want the municipality to decide whether breakfast or lunch will be served?

– We have not decided on that. But in any case, we want the students to have an impact on that decision, says Sania.

Flextime in upper secondary school

Another wish from the students is to introduce flextime at all the upper secondary schools in Oslo.

So far, three schools have tested this: Edvard Munch, Elvebakken and Hellerud. The students there have two hours of voluntary study time per week in the timetable. Every time they meet, they get a stamp, and these hours are recorded as “overtime”, which the students can use to erase absences or to take time off.

The scheme is so successful that it should be extended to apply to all the city’s upper secondary schools, UBM believes.

– The students are very happy to have that flexibility. It teaches students to take responsibility, argues Sania.

The list from UBM also states that they want to build more swimming pools and strengthen vocational subjects.

– Now gradually more swimming pools are being opened and that is good. But our proposal is more comprehensive. We want swimming training to be strengthened and for it to start earlier, says Sania.

UBM also proposes free swimming courses in the afternoons and evenings in municipal swimming pools and that swimming becomes a competence goal in upper secondary school.

When it comes to vocational subjects, UBM is clear about what they expect.

Want more apprenticeships

They will increase the number of apprenticeship places in Oslo through binding contracts with business. UBM wants a municipal apprenticeship subsidy in the capital so that it becomes more attractive for the municipality’s businesses to employ apprentices. And they believe the municipality must ensure that companies in which they are co-owners take on apprentices. They also want Oslo municipality to set requirements for private companies they collaborate with to take on apprentices.

In addition, UBM is committed to ensuring that all upper secondary schools offering vocational subjects have up-to-date and sufficient equipment for all students. They also want the apprenticeship guarantee to be extended to all vocational programmes.

The Youth City Council Meeting (UBM) is the largest arena for youth co-determination in Oslo. Young people from all over Oslo gather at the town hall to discuss and propose issues that are important to young people. Five cases are eventually sent to the city council for political consideration, and may turn into actual policy.

The first step will be to present the five cases to the Culture and Education Committee.