SHOCK CHART: SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT TESTS LEAST GETS WORLD-LEADING TEST RESULTS What would happen if you eliminated most standardized tests; educated the whole child based on developmental and educational research; hired excellent teachers and required them to have masters degrees in classroom practice; gave teachers maximum autonomy, professional respect and elite cultural status; minimized unnecessary academic stress; gave relatively light homework until high school; had no cram schools; based school systems on professional collaboration; focused on equity rather than politics; fully funded early and special education; delayed formal academics until age 7 in favor of play; had minimal classroom technology; gave children daily recess; and required by law every school child to have a 15 minute mental and physical break every hour of every school day? Maybe nothing would happen. Or maybe youd turn in to Finland, which despite a recent slip in the PISA tests still has one of the best, most equitable and cost-effective national school systems in the world. Most of Finlands proven systemic reforms have rarely been tested in modern American public education. Instead, the United States is pursuing largely the opposite course. And before you dismiss Finland as a fluke that America cant learn much from, consider two things: #1, The population and demographics of Finland are similar to a number of American states, and education policy is largely set at the state level; and #2, Finland has significantly outperformed its cultural control-group countries like Sweden and Norway. For the big picture, see the attached chart, courtesy of Eric Hanushek of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (citation: Eric A. Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann, The Knowledge Capital of Nations, in progress). Hanushek explains: The scores on the left are on a PISA scale -- but the graph combines scores from TIMSS (and earlier IEA tests) with PISA. Singapore is not there because it did not have a long enough time series to use for estimating the trends. Also see the work of Pasi Sahlberg, Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and one of the most inspiring advocates for the worlds children: pasisahlberg/portfolio-writings/short-bio/ blip.tv/hdnet-news-and-documentaries/dan-rather-reports-finnish-first-6518828
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 18:02:15 +0000
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