KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENTS IN EDUCATION AS STEERING AND COMMUNICATION MEDIA.

In Swedish educational research, tests, exams, grades and evaluations are often regarded as different kinds of phenomena. In line with international research we discuss them in terms of ”assessment in education”. Our interest is directed towards what unites rather than divides these phenomena, and in this article we focus on how assessment produces information on students’ performance that can be used in the governance of education. Using historical examples we argue for a view of knowledge assessment as part of the curriculum. The argument is advanced with reference to Basil Bernstein’s concept message system and Jürgen Habermas’s theory of steering and communication media