Education in Finland

Teacher Quality (continued)

• In the United States, only select states require a Master’s degree in Education. Additionally, there are several ways to obtain a teaching license (such as the ARC program). This is not the case in Finland. All primary, middle, and high school teachers must hold a Master’s degree, and there are NO alternative ways to receive a teacher’s credential in Finland (Sahlberg, 2011). Teaching is not seen as a second-career choice or a fallback; it is a highly-respected profession requiring dedication, skill, and a lifelong focus.
• Finnish teacher candidates spend 5 years in training, with up to 25% of their overall preparation time spent in the classroom. Additionally, the mentoring or supervising teachers must prove they themselves are capable of training the candidates.
• Continuing professional development is provided for by the state, at state expense. Teachers are given autonomy in terms of what further training they feel they need or could benefit from.

De-emphasis of Standardized Testing

In the 1980s, the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) decided to do away with standardized tests. At the time, Finland’s students had only average performances on international assessments.

Within 20 years they were ahead of every one of the 65 countries participating in PISA (Fleischman, Hopstock, Pelczar, & Shelley, 2010).

A great book that should be read by all teachers, administrators, and (most importantly) policy-makers.

De-emphasis of Standardized Testing (continued)

• Evaluations of Finnish teachers are not based on student scores. Standardized assessments do not define the teacher. Instead, “the Finnish system relies on the expertise and professional accountability of teachers who are knowledgeable and committed.” (Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation, Helsinki).

Pasi Sahlberg interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CLdY9AAqI4

• Finn students only take one mandatory standardized assessment throughout their entire education, and they do not need to take it until they are 16 years of age (Taylor, 2012).
• The financial cost of giving annual standardized tests in even a small country (such as Finland) ranges from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. Finland invests its money into its education system, rather than on assessments.
• The academic and emotional costs of high-stakes standardized testing are immeasurable, but most experts agree that much instruction time is lost as teachers and students focus on how to take a test rather than how to demonstrate true knowledge and understanding.