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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Finland's educational success story: Less testing, more trusting | Local News | The Seattle Times

Finland's educational success story: Less testing, more trusting | Local News | The Seattle Times:


Finland's educational success story: Less testing, more trusting

Finland has become an educational star by doing the opposite of what's happening in many U.S. schools and school districts. Pasi Sahlberg, an official with Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland's success.
Seattle Times education reporter



Free lecture
Pasi Sahlberg, Finland education official and author of "Finnish Lessons," a book about Finland's education success, will give a free talk Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the University of Washington's Kane Hall, Room 210.
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Forty years ago, Finland was a small, homogeneous country with mediocre public schools. Today, Finland is still small and, although it has grown more diverse, is still much more homogeneous than countries such as the United States.
But no one calls Finland's public schools mediocre anymore.
In 2000, the Finns surprised the world when their 15-year-olds scored at the top of a closely watched international exam called the PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment. Finland has stayed near the top ever since, while the U.S. scores around the middle.
Pasi Sahlberg, an official with Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture, is in Seattle this week to share the story of Finland's success, and what