Article Analysis Essay on "What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success"

Introduction

In the article "What Americans keep ignoring about Finland's School Success" Ann Partanen provides a background on how Finland's school success puts the US to shame. It gives information on how such emerging country has developed its education to an extent that it has become a world giant and a center of education benchmarked by countries including the US itself. The Finland school success has put the US to shame because of the unique absence of market forces in the provision of education, use of independent tests and encouraging cooperation instead of competition.

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Finland's school lacks the standardized test, and in its place are independent tests. Finland's school employs skilled teachers who engage children in more creative play with independent tests for assessment unlike US standardized test approach to assessment. The Finnish students do only one exam known as the National Matriculation Exam at the end of upper secondary school and each student is issued with a report card which is based on personalized grading by each teacher. The Americans are gripped with the standardized test as opposed to independent tests used in Finland (Partanen).

Also, Finland's school, unlike the American education system, is purely gathered for by the public funds. In Finland schools, the focus is on creating safe learning environments for children which are enhanced through the provision of free school meals, psychological counseling, easy access to healthcare and individualized student guidance. In American schools, the focus is making a profit by charging high tuition and boarding fees locking out those who cannot afford (Partanen).

Furthermore, Finland schools focus on cooperation as opposed to competition that characterizes American schools. In Finland, education is viewed as a tool to even out social inequality but not a system for producing star performers. Education is not seen as a competition between teachers and schools, but cooperation (Partanen). This is completely opposite in American schools where standardized tests are meant to show star performers and poor students. American education system focuses less on cooperation and equality of access to education, and this is where the Finish system outperforms American education and policy reforms.

The Finland education system characterized by cooperation as opposed to competition, equality, and focused on the creation of safe environments is a challenge to the American educational reformists. Finland's experience and status of education show that America has to undertake radical reforms to upscale the system so that it serves the purpose of eradicating inequalities rather than perpetrating.

Work Cited

Partanen, Anu. "What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success". The Atlantic, 2011, https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/.