In Today's Globe: Lessons from Finland: A must read!

[Monty Neill <monty@fairtest.org>]

A valuable short piece contrasting Finland with the US. PISA as a sole
evaluation of nation's is a bad idea, but Finland if I recall correctly has
far better high school grad rates and sends a larger percentage of people to
college. FYI, it is about the size of MA. The point is that Finland does so
much different than the US trend of test, punish privatize. They don't test,
they don't privatize, the focus on improving the teaching force. Of course
they also provide health care, the poverty rate is minuscule compared to the
US, they raise enough money to ensure greater equity of income, etc. It also
seems they help immigrants rather than attack them. Monty




http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/12/27/learning_from_finland/

Pasi Sahlberg
[image: The Boston Globe] <http://www.boston.com/news/globe/> Learning from
Finland How one of the world’s top educational performers turned around
 (Gabriel Polonsky for The Boston Globe)
By Pasi Sahlberg<http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=Pasi+Sahlberg&camp=localsearch:on:byline:art>
December 27, 2010

  IF AMERICANS harbored any doubts about their eroded global edge, the
recent release of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s
fourth international comparison of educational performance should rattle the
nation from its “We’re No. 1’’ complacency. The latest Program for
International Student Assessment study revealed that, although the United
States made some modest gains, it is lagging behind many other developed
nations in the ability of its 15-year-olds. The country isn’t flunking: like
France, England, and Sweden, learning here has stagnated at below-average
levels. That “gentleman’s C’’ should be a call to change course.

Take heart. Finland, one of the world’s top educational performers according
to the last PISA study and a recent McKinsey report, was once in a similar
slump and can offer lessons for the United States and others seeking a cure
for poor public schools.

As recently as 25 years ago, Finnish students were below the international
average in mathematics and science. There also were large learning
differences between schools, with urban or affluent students typically
outperforming their rural or low-income peers. Today, as the most recent
PISA study proves, Finland is one of the few nations that have accomplished
both a high quality of learning and equity in learning at the same time. The
best school systems are the most equitable — students do well regardless of
their socio-economic background. Finally, Finland should interest US
educators because Finns have employed very distinct ideas and policies in
reforming education, many the exact opposite of what’s being tried in the
United States.

Finland has a different approach to student testing and how test data can or
should not be used. Finnish children never take a standardized test. Nor are
there standardized tests used to compare teachers or schools to each other.
Teachers, students, and parents are all involved in assessing and also
deciding how well schools, teachers, or students do what they are supposed
to do. Politicians and administrators are informed about how well the
education system works by using sample-based learning tests which place no
pressure on schools, and by research targeted to understand better how
schools work. Parents and politicians think that teachers who work closely
together with parents are the best judges of how well their children are
learning in schools.

Another difference is that Finland has created an inspiring and respectful
environment in which teachers work. All teachers are required to have higher
academic degrees that guarantee both high-level pedagogical skills and
subject knowledge. Parents and authorities regard teachers with the same
confidence they do medical doctors. Indeed, Finns trust public schools more
than any other public institution, except the police. The fact that teachers
in Finland work as autonomous professionals and play a key role in
curriculum planning and assessing student learning attracts some of the most
able and talented young Finns into teaching careers.

Educational leadership is also different in Finland. School principals,
district education leaders, and superintendents are, without exception,
former teachers. Leadership is therefore built on a strong sense of
professional skills and community.

Many Americans may doubt that Finland, with its homogeneous population, has
much relevance to the United States. However, due to growing immigration,
ethnic and cultural diversity is increasing in Finland.

The secret of Finnish educational success is that in the 20th century Finns
studied and emulated such advanced nations as Sweden, Germany, and the
United States. Finns adopted some education policies from elsewhere but also
avoided mistakes made by these leading education performers.

What could the United States learn from the Finns? First, reconsider those
policies that advocate choice and competition as the key drivers of
educational improvement. None of the best-performing education systems
relies primarily on them. Indeed, the Finnish experience shows that
consistent focus on equity and cooperation — not choice and competition —
can lead to an education system where all children learn well. Paying
teachers based on students’ test scores or converting public schools into
private ones (through charters or other means) are ideas that have no place
in the Finnish repertoire for educational improvement.

Second, provide teachers with government-paid university education and more
professional support in their work, and make teaching a respected
profession. As long as teachers are not trusted in their work and are not
respected as professionals, young talent in the United States is unlikely to
seek teaching as a lifelong career.

Finally, with the fourth PISA study again showing that the US education
system is lagging those in many other countries, Americans should admit that
there is much to learn from these systems. Relying on one’s past reputation
is probably not the best approach for transforming an educational system to
meet tomorrow’s needs and challenges. With America’s “can do’’ mentality and
superior knowledge base in educational improvement, you could shift course
before it’s too late.

*Pasi Sahlberg is director general of the Center for International Mobility
and Cooperation at Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture and is a
former Washington-based World Bank education specialist. *
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

Lisa Guisbond





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-- 
Monty Neill, Ed.D
Interim Executive Director
FairTest
15 Court Sq, Ste 820
Boston, MA 02108
monty@fairtest.org
857-350-8207; fax 850-357-8209
www.fairtest.org