The Country With the World's
Most Successful Education System
We probably don't need to go much beyond the above quote to explain the great success of Finland's educational system.
Although the country is comparatively small, Finland has the principal research and development offices of Nokia -- along with 800 other high-tech companies, some overflowing their expertise into neighboring Russia.
This country, not too far from the Arctic circle, is considered to be in the top three of the world’s most competitive countries.
The reason seems clear: its educational system.
The Finnish government
keeps the pressure on students to a point that they complain of a
lack of fun at school. At the same time, there are no nationwide exams
or even final tests. There is continuous assessment -- a mixture of
monthly tests and teacher evaluations.
However badly behaved, no student fears expulsion. The
emphasis is "getting to the bottom of" whatever behavior
Thus, the educational gap between the "haves" and the "have-not's" shrinks, and the overall level of student and adult achievement is raised.
The answer to a truly effective educational system is no mystery; the only mystery in the United States is why we let vested interests keep us from achieving it.