Stockholm School of Economics: High school test requirement eliminated women

The Stockholm School of Economics’ requirement of at least 1.25 on the high school test primarily affected women, who were screened out in the application process. This was revealed by the school’s communications manager, Hanna Flodmark, to Samnytt. The requirement has now been removed.

Those who want to study at the Stockholm School of Economics have the opportunity to apply in four different ways. However, the majority of students, about three quarters of all applicants, are admitted based on their high school grades.

In February last year, the school introduced a new requirement: It was no longer sufficient to have only good grades; the applicant also needed to score at least 1.25 on the high school test to qualify.

– Reports from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate about grade inflation had surfaced. We wanted to take a stand against the inflated grades that exist at the high school level in the Swedish school system, Hanna Flodmark told Samnytt.

Reduced Diversity

When the high school test was taken in April this year, barely one fifth of all those who took it scored 1.25 or higher. Something that the school argued a high-performing student should be able to achieve.

– It was a way, as we have expressed it, to inspect the grades, Flodmark explained.

But the new requirement had drastic effects on the so-called diversity at the Stockholm School of Economics. Hanna Flodmark explained that those admitted increasingly became men from Stockholm with a strong socio-economic background.

– Diversity decreased in all categories, but it decreased most in terms of gender balance. The percentage of women decreased, she said, adding:

– We have seen that women with high grades choose not to take the high school test at all. This caused their numbers to decrease.

Not a Good Tool

Hanna Flodmark told Samnytt that the percentage of women among Swedish students decreased by a whole ten percentage points. This led the Stockholm School of Economics to decide to eliminate the requirement to pass the high school test with a score of 1.25.

And now the school will look for another way to address students who have received ”inflated grades” from high school.

– The high school test turned out not to be a good tool for that, Hanna Flodmark said.