Sweden’s School Reforms to Postpone First Number Grade to Middle School: A Model?

In the educational production process of the school system, report cards provide a crucial performance feedback for students. Sweden was a pioneer in abolishing numerical grades from report cards in elementary school, as grades were considered harmful for students’ motivation to learn. In this article, we outline the Swedish reforms and summarize the existing evidence on the consequences of early grading. Overall, this evidence points towards mixed effects on student achievement and educational inequalities.