A Finnish education ambassador shares how his country’s school system ensures all students have access to quality instruction, sans constant testing Quality and Equity in Finnish Schools

BY PASI SAHLBERG

y work for the Centre for Inter- hensive School in Helsinki, Finland, to see national Mobility and Coopera- how the educators provide special education. tion at the Finnish Ministry of It is a typical suburban public school that Education and Culture allows me serves 760 students in grades 1-9. More than to visit schools around the world. 10 percent are from immigrant-background Based on those visits, I have con- homes. cluded that schools everywhere Three special education classes of eight vary little with regard to the sub- students each were led by a special education jects they teach, the classrooms where students teacher and supported by one or two trained Mlearn and the students’ opinions about school. assistants. Thirty-nine other students with Schools do differ significantly in one area, varying special needs were integrated into reg- however: the way they address the inequalities ular classes with the help of an expert teacher. and diversity their students bring to school. The teachers and administrators had designed I recently visited the Hiidenkivi Compre- a curriculum that suggests this school invests

september 2012 School Administrator 27 heavily in ensuring all students have access to tions of school values, a mission statement and effective instruction and individualized help. the overarching goals of the school. The Finnish Dream Essence of Equity For a small, agrarian and relatively poor nation, People sometimes assume incorrectly that educating all of its youth equally well was the equity in education means all students are the best way to catch up to other countries in the same or will achieve the same outcomes. In industrial world. Since the early 1970s, educa- fact, equity in education indicates all students tion policies have made equality of educational have access to a high-quality education, regard- “For a small, opportunity the key driver in Finnish education less of where they live, who their parents are or reform — an imperative that addresses human what school they attend. In this sense, equity agrarian and rights and economic concerns. in schooling ensures that differences in educa- The Finnish Dream, as I call it in my tional outcomes are not the result of differences relatively poor book Finnish Lessons: What Can the World in wealth, income, power or possessions. nation, educating Learn From Educational Change in Finland? Equity is measured in the international stu- (Teachers College Press, 2011), means all chil- dent assessments by calculating the strength of all of its youth dren, regardless of family background or per- the relationship between student performance sonal conditions, have a good school in their and home background. According to the latest equally well community. Because Finnish educators and Program for International Student Assessment policymakers believe schools can change the study conducted by the Organisation for Eco- was the best way course of children’s lives, these schools must nomic Co-operation and Development, com- to catch up to other address the health, nutrition, well-being and monly referred to as PISA and OECD, Finnish happiness of all children in a systematic and students were among the top performers in read- countries in the equitable manner. ing, mathematics and science and had one of the This focus has remained unchanged during weakest impacts of socioeconomic background. industrial world.” the past four decades. However, schools have Finnish schools use two strategies to addressed educational equality in two distinct enhance equity in schooling: (1) school-based phases over the years. curricula that give teachers and administrators The first phase, during the ’70s and ’80s, the power to define values, purpose and over- was characterized by strict central steering and all educational goals for their school; and (2) external control of schools. Prescribed state emphasis on and access to professional devel- curricula, school inspections and detailed state opment to help schools reach these goals. regulations gave the Finnish government a strong grip on schools and teachers. These cen- ll School-based curricula. A school-based tral directives also required that all schools pro- curriculum is an important strategy to con- vide health services, school meals and individu- vert system-level equity policies into concrete alized support for those children with special actions and structures within schools. Teachers educational needs. In other words, the central and administrators are able to influence the government ensured equality of opportunity. formulation of the values, purpose and goals The second phase of education reform, from of their schools based on their professional the early ’90s to the present, is characterized as judgment and the input of parents and the a time of increased local control, professionalism community. and autonomy. Schools became responsible for The terminology used in school-developed their own curriculum planning, student assess- curricula in Finland is pragmatic, reflecting ment, school improvement reflection and self- the moral aspects of education rather than the assessment. State school inspections were elimi- political rhetoric typical of government-prepared nated, fiscal control was moved to the districts, policy documents. During my time as a govern- and a sample-based educational evaluation ment school-improvement officer in the 1990s, I system was designed to help monitor the overall read hundreds of school-created curricula. All of performance of the Finnish educational system. the schools, with few exceptions, had formulated A critical aspect in the transformation of their values and goals with equity and equality education governance was the requirement of as central principles of the declared work of the a school-based curriculum. All schools must school and used such phrases as “everybody has create their own curriculum, including descrip- the opportunity to succeed.”

28 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR september 2012 ll Emphasis on professional develop- ment. In Finland, all teachers and administra- tors must have high academic credentials and are considered professionals. Just like medical doctors or engineers, they must update their knowledge and skills continuously. The Finn- ish government has maintained professional development as one of the main policy priori- ties since the early ’90s. This year, the Finnish state budget allocated more than $30 million to professional development of teachers and administrators. Finnish teachers and administrators each spend, on average, seven days annually in pro- fessional development activities; half of that is on their personal time. School districts that are able to provide most of the funding for schools also invest in professional development, which primarily is focused on implementing the school’s curriculum. Pasi Sahlberg’s extensive travels for the Finnish Overall, Finland invests 30 times more Ministry of Education and Culture give him funds in the professional development of teach- insightful points of comparison about public ers and administrators than in evaluating the schooling. performance of students and schools, including testing. In testing-intensive education systems, highest-performing education systems across this ratio is the opposite, with the majority of OECD nations are those that combine quality “Finnish teachers funding going to evaluation and standardized with equity. Other research demonstrates that and administrators testing. investing as early as possible in high-quality education for all students and directing addi- each spend, on Assessing Performance tional resources toward the most disadvan- The strong emphasis on equity in schooling taged students as early as possible produces average, seven gives different meaning to school performance the greatest positive effect on overall aca- days annually in and how it is assessed. In the United States, as demic performance. An educational system in other parts of the world, standardized test- that is equitable and promotes student learn- professional ing is the most common way to measure school ing can redress the effects of broader social performance. Teachers and administrators are and economic inequalities. development held accountable for their students’ learning based on these data. Defining Special Needs activities; half That’s not the case in Finland where, How has Finland turned these findings into of that is on their absent standardized tests, schools are respon- practices to enhance equity in schools? As one sible for assessing student achievement. A example, all Finnish schools provide for stu- personal time.” high-performing school in Finland is one dents with special needs and include them in where all students perform beyond what mainstream schooling. Even the definition of would be expected based on their socioeco- special education in Finland is drastically dif- nomic background. In other words, the greater ferent from that in the United States. the equity, the higher the school is regarded. First, in Finland, special education is defined In Finland, inequity in the education system primarily as addressing learning difficulties in demonstrates a failure to use fully students’ reading, writing, mathematics or foreign lan- cognitive and creative potential. As a small guages. In the United States and in many other nation, we cannot leave any child behind. nations, students are identified as having special We know from research that strengthen- education needs if they meet criteria for a vari- ing equity in education also can be finan- ety of disabling conditions such as sensory and cially beneficial. The OECD, examining the speech-language impairments, intellectual dis- four cycles of PISA data, concluded that the abilities and behavioral problems.

september 2012 School Administrator 29 Second, in Finland, special education needs is a popular argument in England, Australia, are identified early, and prevention is a com- the Russian Federation and Sweden and in mon strategy. As a result, a larger percentage of much of the rest of the world. In the United children are identified as special-education stu- States, many think charter schools will unlock dents in Finland than in the United States. In educational innovation and increase student Finnish comprehensive schools (corresponding access to better schools. to K-9 education in the United States), almost The evidence, however, does not support one-third of all pupils are in part- or full-time these views, as the OECD recently reported in special education. “Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Finally, Finnish special education is called Disadvantaged Students and Schools,” published learning and schooling support and encom- earlier this year. Rather, school choice and asso- passes three categories of support for those ciated market mechanisms tend to increase the students with special needs: general support, segregation of students in schools. Sweden is a intensified support and special support. good example of the impact of placing school General support includes actions by the choice ahead of equity among education policy regular classroom teacher in terms of differ- priorities. The quality of Swedish schooling entiation, as well as efforts by the school to remains stagnant, while segregation and educa- cope with student diversity. Intensified support tional inequality have increased. consists of remedial support by the teacher, Education reform in Finland has made all “Finland has co-teaching with the special education teacher, public schools good places for children to learn invested and individual or small-group learning with and teachers to teach. There are about 80 inde- a part-time special education teacher. Spe- pendent schools in Finland, but most of them fairly and cial support includes a wide range of special resemble public schools. They have similar ­education services, from full-time general edu- educational programs and teacher policies. It is more heavily cation to placement in a special institution. All difficult to have an equitable education system students in this category are assigned an indi- that has liberal school-choice policies because in schools within vidual learning plan. choice invariably increases segregation. disadvantaged Together with my Finnish colleagues, I believe Finland’s special education system is Building a System communities and a reason for the country’s world-class ranking How should public funds be spent in educa- in recent international studies. My personal tion? Should more public resources be targeted insisted that the view, based on working with and visiting hun- to those schools that demonstrate good results dreds of Finnish schools, is that most schools in standardized assessments? I think we need best way to pay particular attention to those children who to invest more heavily in schools in disadvan- provide equal need more help becoming successful, compared taged neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly to other students. This was my impression of public schools. opportunities Hiidenkivi Comprehensive School; it is a wor- Finland has followed the path of fairness thy example of a Finnish school with a strong and inclusion in building a more equitable for all is through focus on equity. school system. The country has invested fairly Many U.S. teachers and administrators and more heavily in schools within disadvan- public schools.” often are stuck in the middle of “excellence taged communities and insisted the best way to versus equity” quandaries because of external provide equal educational opportunities for all demands and regulations. Standardized testing is through public schools. . that compares individuals to statistical aver- I believe the United States should do the Y ORK, N. ORK,

ages, competition that leaves weaker students same if it aims to improve its public school sys- Y behind and merit-based pay for teachers jeop- tem. Perhaps Finland’s determination to elevate ardize schools’ efforts to enhance equity. None equity, not measure excellence, is the reason so of these factors exists in Finland. many young and talented Finns declare teach- ing to be their dream career. O Downside of Choice Finally, a few thoughts about school choice.

Pasi Sahlberg is director general of the Centre for NEW PRESS, COLLEGE H ERS TEAC OF Y Advocates for choice argue that the introduc- International Mobility and Cooperation in the Finnish tion of market mechanisms allows equal access Ministry of Education and Culture in Helsinki, Finland.

to high-quality schooling for all students. This E-mail: [email protected]; Twitter: @pasi_sahlberg COURTES P H OTO

30 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR september 2012