Assessing Intercultural Competence through Swedish National Tests of Social Science: A Validation Study

Despite concerted efforts of international organisations to advocate for the integration of intercultural competence (IC) into all facets of education, IC remains under-theorised in large-scale and social science assessments. By utilising the Swedish National Tests of Social Science (NTSS) as a resource for evaluating students’ IC, this study examines all available NTSS test items to provide an exhaustive review of the IC aspects addressed in NTSS content over its first decade of existence. In total, 210 NTSS test items were used from 2013 to 2022, of which 46 were deemed interculturally relevant. The results indicate that the NTSS capture several aspects of global knowledge, social knowledge, and perspective-taking. In contrast, there has been limited testing of cultural knowledge, reflexivity, and respect, suggesting variability in the NTSS’ coverage of the IC construct. The findings demonstrate NTSS’s utility beyond its primary functions as an external grading instrument of social science, offering insights into its assessment capacity, which transcends the assessment parameters drawn by the Swedish National Education Agency.