As a part of the global trend, Swedish school system has undergone fundamental reforms in the last two decades. This has thoroughly transformed the system from being highly comprehensive and centralized to a highly decentralized and deregulated one. Meanwhile, Swedish economy went a downturn, causing the budget-cut in many public sectors, such as education. The consequences that the educational reforms and the economic recession may have on educational inequality and segregations have attracted great public and political attention. International evidences showed that the recent trend of school reforms strengthen the role family plays in their children’s education and exacerbate achievement gaps and educational segregation (Gewirtz et al., 1995; Levin, 2002; Maslowski et al., 2007).

Swedish studies also confirmed these findings (e.g., Björklund et al., 2005). Gustafsson and Yang Hansen (2009) found that the between-school differences in final year grades of the Swedish compulsory school increased annually over the years 1998-2007 (e.g., Gustafsson, 2006). However, these studies did not adapt a multivariate multilevel approach, and the estimates of school-level variances in school marks may be biased by measurement errors. Moreover, few studies examined the causal relation between different reform actions and the observed educational segregation, so that credible inferences of the impact of educational reforms can be based upon.

Applying Growth curve modeling technique, Yang Hansen (2009) examined the development of segregation in Swedish compulsory schools with respect to educational achievement, socioeconomic status and ethnicity, and the causal links among the three aspects. It showed that the between-school gap in school marks increased between 1998 and 2007. The SES composition of the intakes within school has become more homogenous. This change was related to the great variation in the growth of proportion immigrant pupils between schools over time, indicating the flow of students due to the free school choice. It may however be interesting to examine the relationship between SES and school marks in each cohort and see if the SES effect grows over time. 

In order to achieve a reliable estimate of SES effects on school marks, precise measurement of school marks is warranted. Most of the previous studies focused on the sum score of school marks. This study will adapt a multidimensional approach, through fitting two-level multi-group latent variable models to the school marks awarded in 16 different subjects (for one-level model of dimensionality of school marks, see Andersson, 1998). Cliffordson, Gustafsson & Yang Hansen (2009) studied the changes in latent structure and the variances of school marks between 1989 to 2007 with such an approach. The proposed study will gauge the Cliffordson and associates model, and also extend it into a causal model of SES effects. 

Thus, the aim of the study is to investigate changes in the variation between schools and students in the school marks of the 9^th grade in the comprehensive school. The study will also investigate the relationship between the latent achievement variables and SES at both individual- and school-level, with a focus on changes in the strength of the relationship over time.

Andersson, A. (1998). The Dimensionality of the Leaving Certificate in the Swedish Compulsory School. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 42(1), 25 - 40. Björklund, A., Clark, M., Edin, P.-E., Fredriksson, P., & Krueger, A. B. (2005). The Market Comes to Education in Sweden. An Evaluation of Sweden’s Surprising School Reforms: Russel Sage Foundation. Cliffordson, C., Gustafsson, J.-E., & Yang Hansen, K. (2009). Changes in the structure and variances in grades at individual and school levels over time. Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER). Gewirtz, S., Ball, S. J., & Bowe, R. (Eds.). (1995). Markets, Choice and Equity in Education. Buckingham: Open University Press. Gustafsson, J.-E. (2006). Barns Utbildningssituation [Children's Educational Situation; in Swedish]. Stockholm: Rädda Barnen. Gustafsson, J.-E., & Yang Hansen, K. (2009). Resultatförändringar i svensk grundskola [Changes in Outcomes in Swedish Compulsory Schools; in Swedish]. In L. M. Olsson (Ed.), Vad påverkar resultaten i grundskolan? (pp. 40-84). Stockholm: Skolverket. Gustafsson, J. E., & Myrberg, E. (2009). Resursers betydelse för elevers resultat [The importance of resources in pupils' school outcomes; in Swedish]. In L. M. Olsson (Ed.), Vad påverkar resultaten i svensk grundskola? (pp. 160-206). Stockholm: Skolverket. Levin, H. (2002). A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Educational Vouchers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(3), 159-174. Maslowski, R., Scheerens, J., & Luyten, H. (2007). The effect of school autonomy and school internal decentralization on students' reading literacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 18(3), 303 - 334. Yang Hansen, K. (2009). Development of Segregation in Swedish Compulsory Schools: A Growth Modeling of Causal Links between Educational Achievement, SES and Ethnicity. Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER).