1 Pupil/students assessment 

Regulations to the Education Act Chapter 3 on individual assessment states:

• The pupils and apprentice shall understand what they have to learn and what is required of them, e.g. by preparing them for what is expected of them in a more formal assessment situation.
• The pupils and apprentice shall receive feedback which tells them about the quality of their work or performance and which includes feedback on the reasons why the work is considered good or bad.
• The pupils and apprentices shall be given advice on how they may improve based on what they have done.
• The pupils and apprentices shall be involved in their own learning by assessing their own work and development, amongst other things.

The pupils’ and apprentices’ legislative right to assessment means both a right to continuous (formative) assessment and final assessment and a right to documentation of their education. Continuous assessment in vocational programmes has the same purpose and provision as in general upper secondary education The pupils and apprentices shall be assessed in the school subjects and in order and conduct.

Pupil and apprentice assessment has the following aims:

• Informing the pupil/apprentice, parents, teacher and school about the pupil's or apprentice’s progress in relation to the curricula objectives.
• Serving as a tool for the guidance, motivation and development of the pupil/apprentice.
• Offering an opportunity for the teacher to continuously evaluate his/her teaching, procedures and whether the pupil/apprentice is gaining satisfactory learning outcomes from the teaching.
• Providing information about the pupil’s/apprentice’s ability to society, employers and higher education institutions. 

2 Progression of pupils/students

Final assessment occurs after year 1 and year 2 of vocational education. The overall achievement mark is set by the teacher at the end of year 1 and 2.. 

The pupils are tested in their chosen vocational field as described in the Guidelines for Examinations in Vocational Education (in Norwegian). For vocational subjects the counties are responsible for external assessment, appointing external examiners and administration of complaints.

After year 2: All pupils in year 2 of upper secondary education shall have one compulsory interdisciplinary examination from the subjects within their study area. In addition, around 20 per cent of the pupils in year 1 and year 2, are selected for an examination in one subject. The examination is a practical exam and lasts up to 5 hours. 

Year 3 and 4 of the vocational training is conducted in the companies where the apprentice has his or her apprenticeship. For a majority of apprentices there There are no exams during this period except for the trade- or journeyman’s examination at the end. However, in a few apprenticeship trades the apprentices also have to take a five hour written exam before the trade and journeyman’s examination,

3 Certification

• Successful completion of three years of upper secondary education including upper secondary year 1, 2 and 3 (regardless of area of study) or possession of a recognised vocational qualification.
• Studies , within the following general subject areas: Norwegian, English, Social studies History, Mathematics and Natural Science. Document these 6 general education subjects, be over 23 years of age and document a least 5 years of work practice and/or education
• Certificate awarded upon completion of three years of upper secondary education leading to either a general admission qualification for higher education or a vocational qualification in vocational subjects. The latter also requires a bridging course in the general subjects listed in bullet 2 to attain the level of attainment required for admission for higher education. 

Thus, there are two ways of gaining a higher education admission qualification: either by three years of study with a minimum level of attainment in the subjects mentioned above, or by completing and passing upper secondary year 1 and 2 on a vocational programme followed by a supplementary programme at upper secondary year 3. 

In addition, intake to post-secondary non tertiary is done directly after completing 3 years of vocational upper secondary education in school. 

Trade- or Journeyman's examination

Trade- or Journeyman’s examination (final) is taken on completion of an apprenticeship at a workplace or upper secondary school. Successful candidates are awarded a trade certificate, entitling them to practice the trade concerned. The duration in number of days of the examinations vary from vocation to vocation.

In most cases the final test in vocational education and training is the trade or journeyman’s examination. The test is marked as very good, passed or failed. The vocational education programmes lead to trade certificates, journeyman’s certificates or other vocational qualifications.

The county examination board issues trade and journeyman’s certificates on the basis of recognised trade or journeyman’s tests. The county examination board consists of skilled workers in the trade being tested.