The parable of Finland

摘要

WHEN ESTONIA gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 it took the chance to reshape the country's education system. Mailis Reps, the current education minister, says officials and politicians looked everywhere-from America to the Netherlands-for inspiration. But they kept coming back to their Nordic neighbours. As Ms Reps recalls, the concluding argument in any debate often ran: "Let's try something like that because it works in Sweden or Finland." Many others have done similarly. Every three years the oecd publishes results from the Programme for International Student Assessment, with the latest out on December 3rd. pisa tests the reading, maths and science skills of 15- and 16-year-olds in the oecd's member states, as well as volunteers not in the club of mostly rich countries. The results provide a means to directly compare different education systems. It is now nearly two decades since the first batch were released. Back then, there was a surprise. Finland, not previous- ly renowned for its education, topped the table when it came to reading, and excelled in other categories, too.