Why Finland is First in Education

Learn Why Students in Finland are Ranked So High

Feb 16, 2009 Barbara Pytel

While the U.S. may be attempting to enact No Child Left Behind, Finland has already accomplished this goal. What can the U.S. learn from Finland?

The U.S. could learn from other nations that have already overcome poor educational outcomes. Finland is one of them. Finnish students begin studying algebra, geometry and statistics in the first grade.

Finland’s Top-Ranked World Educational System
Finland was not always an education leader. In the 1960s, parents were moving children to private schools to receive a good education. It was predicted that this massive move from public to private would leave only 25% of students left in the public school system by 1972. Finland’s version of the U.S. No Child Left Behind was passed in the Parliament in 1968 and was labeled as Stalinistic.

For thirty years Finland has been tweaking the educational system until results were stellar. In spite of placing top in the world for education, the system is constantly being evaluated and improved. What does Finland do that other nations do not do?

Lofty Finnish Educational Standards

Finland has set education as a national priority and believes that future generations do not have prospects for a healthy lifestyle if the population is not well educated. Finland’s priorities for maintaining a healthy educational system are:

• Establishing a single, straightforward curriculum for all schools.
• Expecting good results from all students and providing extra teaching resources to get those results.
• Giving well-trained teachers respect and freedom to teach.

The citizens of Finland now believe that educating its children is a top priority and are willing to support it financially.

Teaching Profession is Honored in Finland
In the United States, teaching is seemingly not honored. The low salaries teachers earn compared to other fields requiring Bachelor and Master’s degrees support this fact. Leaders in the United States verbally support education but do not prioritize funding for education. Finland does.

In Finland, only one in ten applicants applying for a degree in education will actually be accepted. And, once accepted, students understand they will need to earn a Master’s in Education before being allowed to teach in a classroom.

Finland’s Common Curriculum
Finland stands firm on many concepts.

While many school districts in the United States want to maintain local autonomy, Finland has a common curriculum that is strictly followed.

In spite of downturns in the economy, Finland maintains top funding for education knowing that math and science are key to maintaining its knowledge-based economy.

Finland also emphasizes creative problem-solving skills. After concepts are taught, students are assisted in finding skills and logic to prepare for lifelong learning.

Students having problems learning are assigned tutors and remedial specialists from the first day they are evaluated until the day they graduate.

The most money and time is spent on students in grades 7 through 9 because this is where most of the struggling occurs.

Finland also changed the structure of the educational system. In the past, students were divided into technical tracks and academic tracks at the end of 6th grade. This changed in 1985. All students continue to take the same curriculum until the end of 9th grade.

Criticisms of Finland’s Education System
While Finland’s system has many advantages, some would like to see improvements.

More time spent with gifted children.

14% of males drop out before completing 10th through 12th grades.

70% of students accepted to college are female.

While no system is perfect, Finland has certainly achieved great success to be ranked highest in the world. Even the lowest 10% of students in Finland beat peers anywhere in the world.

Source: Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News, "Texas school reformers try to learn lessons from Finland", February 8, 2009.