Finland once again took the number one spot in OECD's three-yearly test of reading, mathematics and science abilities of a sample of 15-year old secondary-school students, followed by Hong Kong (China) and Canada in second and third place, according to advance details of results that will be published in full next week.
The PISA survey, based on tests carried out in 2006 in 57 countries that together account for nearly 90% of world GDP, is the most comprehensive and rigorous international yardstick of secondary-school students' attainments. After focusing in 2000 on reading skills and in 2003 on mathematics, PISA 2006 tested students on how much they knew about science and their ability to use scientific knowledge and understanding to identify and address questions and resolve problems in daily life.
Students from the United States showed below average skills in all three aspects, the study revealed, with American teenagers ranking 18th out of 30 among OECD members.
Commenting on the PISA survey, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría noted that it is a tool to assist governments in their policy choices on education.
"In today's competitive global economy, quality education is one of the most valuable assets that a society and an individual can have," he said. "PISA is much more than just a ranking. It is about how well individual education systems are equipping their young people for the world of tomorrow. First and foremost, it tells countries where their strengths and weaknesses lie."
Finland, like rest of Scandinavia, takes great pride in its education system, where no tuition fees are charged, and secondary school students receive a range of benefits including free books and meals.
Comments
Finnish kids
the kids are bright but their brains will soon be destroyed through adolescent alcoholism. Thank you lapin kulta.
How dare you blame Lapin Kulta!!
Lapin Kulta is the best beer Finland has to offer (and it is better than the average American beer. Not saying much, I know)! I would submit that a far inferior brand, like the sweaty tasting, gas inducing swill known as Lahtilaista (the "Milwaukee's Best" of Finland) has a far more negative impact.
On a serious note, maybe pointing the finger at 333ml sized servings of cheap Koskenkorva would be more accurate. That and super cheap dry anise (ouzo to the rest of us) were what I saw all the drunks drinking when I lived in Finland.
Every country has adolscent alcoholism
so every country has equal "brain destruction." (if such a thing even exists) meaning they're still the "smartest." Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to destroy my adolsecent brain with some fine quality Bud light, or maybe some juicy mexican Tecate. No wait, mooon shine! Theres some quality brain destroyer! moon shine and some heroin! YEAH! ADOLESCENT ALCOHOLISM ROCKS ANUS!!! YEAHHH
Note worthy
Actually, it's been proven that American child become dummer and dummer while Finnish kid keep an excellent level of education.
Education is the root of society. Without free education, only the rich in the end can have a worthy education. The poor finish with a crappy education and are ruled by the rich. And the loop keep going like that.
Rich people wont want to pay for poor people education and the loop continue.
Sweet isn't it?
'Maxim', I'm trying to
'Maxim', I'm trying to figure whether or not your poor grammar and punctuation is an ironic statement.
Heh. He could be speaking
Heh.
He could be speaking from direct experience. Maybe it's not that ironic after all.
Oh, it's ironic - it's just
Oh, it's ironic - it's just not intentional.
And how many languages can you communicate in, bugeats?
I'd be willing to bet that if Maxim is Finnish, he/she can communicate in Finnish, English, Swedish and one other language. I'd also bet that you, bugeats, can probably only manage English (and that, barely). Unless you can handle a foreign language as well as Maxim has handled English (and even after a couple of years of college level study you would still be lagging) you should crawl back into your hole and continue hibernating.
Grammar?
I'd bet a thousand dollars that the reason his(?) grammar isn't great is because English isn't his first-language, but he is nonetheless multi-lingual.
Most European kids are fairly fluent in a couple of languages - most European kids couldn't point to Finland on a map.
To Bugeats
Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would know that 'Maxim' is obviously not a native English speaker. I guarantee you that his English is orders of magnitude better than any foreign language you might speak. If you're an American, then chances are very good you don't speak any foreign language.
Secondly, the grammar in your own post is faulty.
Maxim isn't a native English speaker.
What's your excuse?
To Peter
You've made an assumption and argued as if it were true (I don't think it is). But no matter if Maxim is a native English speaker or not, his point is very thin, another indicator of low intelligence. And do you really think he would misspell and not capitalize "Finnish," if he were Finnish?
The reason America has a
The reason America has a lower average intelligence is because of all the NIGGERS.
Errmm...
Seriously, it is because of people like this commenter. No joke. We have enough of them that they drag the average down. How do you think America elected a man like George Bush for president? It wasn't black americans that did it... it was people like this.
Wow, that must be it. Thanks
Wow, that must be it.
Thanks for your illuminating and well-research analysis.
You ignorant fuck.
Rasism
How dare you say America is low on intelligence because of niggers! YOU BEACH BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Results?
The US has a number of entitlement programs associated with the schools that make it harder and harder to continue to fund education at a level that will compete against other countries. I am curious if this testing included private or charter schools.
I'd like to point out that
I'd like to point out that the taxes are higher in Finland than in the US. The combined top marginal tax rate in Finland is about 60%.
It isn't really "free".
bleeding hearts unite! (and bring your violins)
it may not be free but it's working. we could take a lesson in many ways from these folks and maybe stamp out the ignorance in people like the above racist who insist on speaking their, ahem, minds with no logical ground to stand on, while also raising the averge i.q. of our countrymen and women. everyone has a complaint, comment or jest (a direct result of the lacking education they've recieved, perhaps?) but can anyone offer a viable solution or even open a discussion of one?
--having said that i'll say also i haven't the answer but look towards these fine fins for guidance by example.
my small town public school education has limited me tremendously and i've had to work hard to regain what is thought of by many a european as common knowledge. there is still much for me to learn. can you all say the same? and does it make you angry? do you feel cheated? does it make you want to demand better for your children so they might not fall behind the rest of the world?
peace friends
If we all - rich, poor and
If we all - rich, poor and middle-class (are there any left?) stopped paying blood money for this war, no one would have to pay any more than they already do in taxes to completely fund both free education, AND a comprehensive socialized health care system.
The fact that Americans actually entertain arguments against these efficient socialized systems reveals a profound ignorance - check out other first-world nations and wake up to the fact that the USA is trailing in every way possible. We even trail many second-world countries.
In my opinion there are
In my opinion there are several things wrong with the American education system;
For starters parents should be free to send their children to the school of their preference and that school should get subsidies for each student inscribed. That way there would be more competition between schools (they'd all want to get more students and thus more money and the logical way of achieving this would be giving better education then other schools around).
And another thing, you've only got to learn 1 language and yet your knowledge of mathematics, science and history seems so much lower then ours.
(You might find this a very subjective statement but:
1) During my senior year I discovered most of your universities post podcast online, is it normal that I’m able to completely understand those while bicycling or watching TV? I've been told you don't even see integrals and differentials before university.. (My source might be wrong there but I wouldn't be surprised)
2) We've visited the US several times before when seeking to locals I tended to notice we had learned more about American history and politics then some of you (such as the flaws in your 'democracy' and the illusion of liberty). (American history is a part of our English lessons)
3) The fact that there are discussions about wether Intelligent Design should be taught in biology lessons is absurd, yeah I know most you are very religious and find atheists weird but that shouldn't change the fact that Intelligent Design should be restricted to religion classes.)
So why not increase the difficulty?
Btw I'm from Belgium and here English (2 hours a week for 5 years) is a 3rd language next to Dutch, French and German. That's my excuse for any grammatical errors you might find.
My New Job
As a well traveled, educated man, who continues to grow just out of pure curiousity for the world, I can't wait to become a teacher one day and help fix this mess. Children are smart! People have to learn how to be stupid.
"Finland, like rest of
"Finland, like rest of Scandinavia, takes great pride in its education system, where no tuition fees are charged, and secondary school students receive a range of benefits including free books and meals."
Tuition fees ARE charged, just not to the students. The books and meals are NOT free, it's just that the students are not the people who have to pay for them.
Finnish citizens pay for these things through taxation (which means some, if not many, citizens may not wish to pay, but are forced to pay, under penalty of forfeiture of assets and/or incarceration.) Maybe every last citizen in Finland is more than happy to pay for anything they're forced to pay for, but that's unlikely.
And if you think that Finnish citizens can't wait to pay as much as they do for each and every social program on the agenda, then make the payments voluntary, instead of involuntary (taxes). Wait and see if there's a change in the amount of wealth collected.
The benefits for the kids are great, and have great results. Just stop pretending that they're free.
There is no free lunch
It is obvious that qualified teachers in Finland are not volunteers and the books are not donated by the publishers. "Free education" means exactly that it is free for those who need the education, and the bill that has to be paid has been agreed by the parlament to be devided between the citizens. And the rich pay a lot more taxes than the average citizen. There are people who would not like to pay that much, but this is not a great issue here in Finland: everebody had the benefit of free education when young, and almost everybody has that in mind while paying the very high taxes.
This is something we are not likely to change. Except for the higher education; there are plans to start charging for university studies, because in Finland there are also wealthy people with not that intelligent kids, and it would fit them better to qualify for university because of wealthy parents rather than having the greatest ability to learn, which is the case now.
And about languages: an average American does not need languages that much; for me Finnish is the mother tongue, English I learned at school grades 3 to 12; ten years alltogether; Swedish is third - seven years of education; German fourth - five years of study. Any American would do just as well with the same amount of education. In Europe it is more likely that you need another language - Finnish is not understood anywhere in the world. Vai ymmärtäisittekö te jos kirjoittaisin suomeksi?
Kyllä me ymmärrettäisiin
Kyllä me ymmärrettäisiin :P toki asiaan saattaa hilppasen vaikuttaa se että on syntyjään suomalainen... But I could also communicate in english, oder deutsch, eller svenska. Det ser ut that being multilingual ist ein normal asia Suomessa :D
US Education System Does what it was Designed to Do
The education system works well for what it was intended to do. It has nothing to do with education, or making children more intelligent or knowledgable.
The US education system is designed to create human lemmings that will conform to the "norm" of society, and be good employees.
Please view this video and understand that it is true. There are even historical references made.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8404777388320594019&q=John+Tayl...
Daniel, I am skeptical that
Daniel,
I am skeptical that you are from Belgium. Your first paragraph argues for school vouchers or charter schools -- a very contentious issue in the US given our history of mandatory egalitarian public education. I have taken a look at the way that schools and Belgium are administered, and it isn't through competition by unregulated primary and secondary schools. In fact, your system is based more on language -- Flemish and English -- and religion with 40% of students attending Catholic parochial schools.
In any event, do the students in Belgium who graduate with a BSO degree, specializing in carpentry, learn integrals and differentials? I thought not. US students and secondary school on the college-bound track not only learn integrals and differentials, but also linear algebra, matrix and vector topology, as well as multidimensional geometry. Frankly, your assertion that you can follow the online classes of schools such as MIT, the primary university that has opened up its curriculum to the Internet in the US, is absurd on its face.
Anyone can talk about unspecified "flaws in your 'democracy'" and the "illusion of liberty" without providing any context. Such statements amount to nothing more than name calling and do not display the application of any significant critical reasoning to the subject.
Finally, the issue of intelligent design creates more heat than light. No school the US has taught intelligent design as science without successful legal challenge. Are you saying you do not have any extremists and Belgium?
By the way, your arithmetic is interesting when you say that English is your third language next to Dutch, French and German. Given that this is the last thing that you say, it pretty much refutes anything you say before.
-- Gene Girard
I'll be more then happy to
I'll be more then happy to write you a full response this evening when I've got more time for it.
1) I really am from Belgium (Flemish part), Hmm I know my parents where absolutely free to send me to whichever school they wanted... people here go to open-door days and then decide where they'd like to inscribe their children. Hmm I you get Flemish from day 1, then French when you're 10is, English when you're 13 and German at the age of 15 (I got Latin (12-13) too but that isn't a real language is it?). Religion not so much... wether you go to a catholic school or a state school you get 2 hours of Religion (in catholic schools that is learning about Levinas, Sartre, discussing movies such as Hotel Rwanda ... I don't think they teach religion in a similar way in the usa? and in state schools you can choose between morals/religion/(islam only a few places tho). (I went to a Catholic school and there were even Muslims who went there.. they just don't make such a big deal about religion here)
2) I thought we where comparing ASO (for people who would like to continue studying) . Obviously crafts shouldn't be expected to learn such things but ASO which means General Secondary Education all do learn those things most off TSO do so too.
3) Wasn't talking about MIT but Berkeley and the Physics courses.
4) I'll go in on the democracy thing later, it wasn't really relevant and it's 7.10AM i've got places to go :). Same with ID, these will be hard to defend so I should take my time for them.
5) I simply meant English in 3rd place as in 1st Dutch, 2nd French, 3rd English & 4th German. So it's my 3rd language out of 4? What's wrong with that?
Daniel Meret
languages
Mluvite Anglitski,proseem?
Mogen wij in het Engels spreken,alstublieft?
Kunnen wir English shprecken, bitte?
Parlez vouz Anglais, sil vous plait?
etc etc etc
All American chidren should be able to at least ask the above question in no less than five languages before high school graduation, and they should be abel to grasp why this skill is important inthe 21st century.
I am an Americna over 50 who decided to learn foreign languages as part of a mid life crisis of sorts- had to do something new.What richness that has brought to life. When I travel or meet people here I cna make instant friends just by showing some language respect.
Also Americans must insist that world geography be taught again in schools, and I meant he old fashioned way that required maps and memorization. We also need to teach history beginning with the beginning of the 20th century, so that our people know why thigs are they way they are. IN doing so western values should nto be diminished via poltical correctness
Not cool to look smart
Easier not to learn than look not cool. This is what the new culture is teaching young boys these days. Do the same studies with girls only and it will be a lot different. To know why just look at The Simpsons. Thats your role models.
What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?
It is interesting that the Finnish students do very well even though their technology would seem somewhat behind that of most countries since they still use chalkboards and over-projectors rather than power point. They also do not concentrate upon the gifted but have the better pupils help the slower. It does not hold the gifted back. The teachers are also given considerable freedom to choose curriculum materials. It is not set. There seem to be less rules than in many systems as well. Finnish parents do not have to worry about paying for their kids education even through college, a big difference for sure. Imagine if a U.S. politician campaigned on eliminating fees for higher education! He or she would be considered a left wing crackpot. But a small country with limited resources manages that without difficulty it seems.
"Each school year, the U.S. spends an average of $8,700 per student, while the Finns spend $7,500. Finland's high-tax government provides roughly equal per-pupil funding, unlike the disparities between Beverly Hills public schools, for example, and schools in poorer districts. The gap between Finland's best- and worst-performing schools was the smallest of any country in the PISA testing. The U.S. ranks about average.
Finnish students have little angstata -- or teen angst -- about getting into the best university, and no worries about paying for it. College is free. There is competition for college based on academic specialties -- medical school, for instance. But even the best universities don't have the elite status of a Harvard."
What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?
Finland's teens score extraordinarily high on an international test. American educators are trying to figure out why.
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Submited by : Recetas
It's not really hard to believe..
And I would love if I had the chance to study more languages while I was younger, sadly we only had English, though it seems that now, the elementary school have French as well.
I seem to remember Steve
I seem to remember Steve Sailer explaining that Finland is so Finlandy solely because it’s full of Finns.
Sounds about right.
i wont know i neva came
i wont know
i neva came across finnish people
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I am sure that findland
I am sure that findland people gave more problems to solve than american children.But this is the way it has to be ... also finland have better university
Interesting article! I think
Interesting article! I think that it's great to know where each national education system stands in comparison to others! I also think that where kids play more play station and that kind of stuff, they learn less. It probably has to do with short attention and lack of concentration!
Nice article! I think that
Nice article! I think that the more TV and MTV the young kids watch the less they can concentrate! If the kids study the results will come. It's not because of the food.
I think that being able to
I think that being able to speak more than two languages is important in the development of the intellect of children. It makes people more inteligent!
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