Finland breaks point record in PISA study
PISA methodology criticised
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Success by Finnish schoolchildren in the latest survey of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the natural sciences has set a new record.
The Finnish result is significantly better than that of any of the other 56 countries surveyed. Finland came out on top with 653 points, 21 points ahead of runner-up Hong Kong.
The OECD officially released the results of the third PISA study on Tuesday. Advance information on the results had been leaked out earlier.
The figures for Finnish 15-year-olds indicated a very even result in sciences: the proportion of weak students was lower than in other OECD countries, and differences between individual schools were among the smallest of all participating countries.
Finnish pupils were also seen to have a more positive attitude toward. Studying the sciences than those of other OECD countries.
In reading skills, Finland has ranked highest on two occasions, and this time, only South Korea racked up more points. South Korea's rise has been fast.
Differences in reading skills for boys and girls were the second highest in Finland of all of the OECD countries. The reason given for this is that girls in Finland have improved their reading skills in recent times.
In mathematics, only Taiwan did slightly better than Finland. However, the average for Finnish pupils has risen since 2003.
Finnish boys did better than girls in mathematics, and the difference has grown since the previous PISA study.
All in all, Finnish school pupils have maintained good performance in all of the PISA studies, in 2000, 2003, and 2006, and the success is attributed to the achievements of pupils at all levels.
Professor Jarkko Hautamäki commented that the result gives the lie to claims that an excessive egalitarianism of the comprehensive school system in Finland would inhibit exceptional talent from emerging. He noted that four per cent of Finnish pupils reached the highest levels in the testing, while the average for all of the countries was 1.3 per cent.
Differences between individual pupils and individual schools were small in Finland, suggesting that the choice of schools is of relatively little significance in Finland.
Choice of school was seen to account for less than six per cent of the variation in the Finnish results, whereas the average for all of the countries examined was 34 per cent.
In addition to being egalitarian, the Finnish school system was seen to be cost-effective: the good results were achieved with relatively little expenditure. In the other Nordic Countries, the per capita cost of public education was significantly higher.
The PISA study has come under criticism from an international group of group of experts who question its scientifical validity, seeing it mainly as a political tool.
A total of 15 experts from seven countries have written a book criticising the methodology of PISA and suggesting that the results of the different countries are not comparable.
"The core problem is if PISA really measures that which it claims to measure", says Stefan Hopmann, Professor of Comparative Education at the University of Vienna in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat.
Hopmann feels that the types of questions asked in the PISA tests are "very Anglo-Saxon".
The group says that the results of the tests should not be used as a basis for school planning, because of their cultural biases.
The group of PISA critics includes Michael Uljens, Professor of Education at the Turku-based Swedish-language university Åbo Akademi.
Uljens says that the PISA studies are like "hidden curricula", aimed at persuading entire nations to adopt more competitive attitudes.
Previously in HS International Edition:
Finland tops PISA in reading and mathematics as well (3.12.2007)
Finnish teens score high marks in latest PISA study (30.11.2007)
Links:
OECD-PISA website
PISA 2006 Finland
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 5.12.2007 - TODAY |
Finland breaks point record in PISA study
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