The Norwegian Education Mirror 2022

Ten years of compulsory school education is a right and a duty in Norway, and every autumn more than 60,000 six-year-olds start school.

Primary and lower secondary schools are becoming fewer and larger. There are 25 more pupils per school than there were 10 years ago.

10 per cent of primary and lower secondary schools are private, and the number of these schools has increased by 84 over the last 10 years. Nearly 5 per cent of pupils go to a private school.

There are now fewer pupils per teacher after the introduction of a statutory pupil-to-teacher ratio. So far, an improvement in the pupil-to-teacher ratio does not appear to be at the expense of other professional groups in schools, or the proportion of teachers without formal qualifications.

Nearly 8 per cent of pupils in primary and lower secondary schools receive special education support, and this proportion is highest at secondary school level. The proportion of pupils receiving special education help in their ordinary classes has markedly increased in recent years, and makes up nearly half of pupils receiving special education help.

Over 6 per cent of pupils in primary and lower secondary school receive special Norwegian language tuition. This proportion is highest among the lowest years at primary and lower secondary school, i.e. the opposite of the case for special education.

Pupils' performance on national exams has changed relatively little over time, with the exception of their performance in English in Year 5, which has improved slightly.

Pupils in primary and lower secondary school still have higher average grades than before the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, girls have higher grades than boys in most subjects.

There are few adult participants in primary and lower secondary education. 64 per cent of people who take primary and lower secondary education for adults are women.