How does Finland test their students?

Standardized tests and Finland's education system Finland's education system has one major standardized test, the national matriculation examination. This test is taken by students at the end of their general upper secondary education and consists of four exams. Students must take a mother tongue language exam.

How are students assessed in Finland?

Teachers are responsible for the assessment on the basis of the objectives written in the Curriculum. The grades are given end of every course. Each student receives a printed report once every school year. Grades in the final basic education certificate are given by the teachers (students are 16 years old).

What does Finland use instead of standardized testing?

The only external standardized test in Finland is the national Matriculation Examination, a high-stakes exam that determines college readiness and which all students are required to pass in order to graduate high school exit and enter university.

What is the exam system in Finland?

There are no national examinations as such. Instead, learning results are being monitored with sample-based evaluations. These are usually organised in the ninth grade. If the child or young person has only recently moved to Finland, he or she may receive preparatory education for comprehensive education.

What is the school test in Finland?

There are no national examinations in comprehensive school education. Only national examination in Finnish education system is matriculation examination in general upper secondary education. Consequently, all pupil assessment in basic education is done by teachers.

Why Finland's schools outperform most others across the developed world | 7.30

Do students in Finland take exams?

Schools with specialisms conduct their own entrance exams. In high school students study either the regular Finnish curriculum or the International Baccalaureate. Students who complete the Finnish curriculum will sit a national exam, the Finnish Matriculation Examination, in their final year, at the age of 18.

Do schools in Finland have tests?

An educational approach is to prepare children for their future life, but not for exams. That is why classes are mainly focused on developing practical skills and there are no exams (the only exam they need to pass is the exam before university, taken at the age of 19).

How do they grade in Finland?

In Finland, the grading scale used is 4-10 in comprehensive and upper secondary schools and 0-5 in vocational and higher education institutions. The grading scales used are not proportional scales and therefore do not fully correspond to the European ECTS grading scale.

What is a passing score in Finland?

The "school grade" system has, historically, been a scale of 0 to 10, but all grades lower than 4 have been consolidated into a grade of 4. Thus, it is now divided between a failing grade (4), and 5–10, the passing grades.

Does Finland have high test scores?

In Finland, 45% of students (the largest share) were in the top international quintile of the socio-economic scale, meaning that they were among the most advantaged students who took the PISA test in 2022. Their average score in mathematics was 517 score points.

Why is Finland #1 in education?

Teachers in Finland spend fewer hours at school each day and spend less time in classrooms than American teachers. Teachers use the extra time to build curriculums and assess their students. Children spend far more time playing outside, even in the depths of winter. Homework is minimal.

Why there is no exam in Finland?

Apart from one exam at the end of a student's senior year in high school, Finland has no mandated standardised tests, a report by Smithsonian explains. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions. Schools in Finland are supported by the government.

Why do Finland's schools get the best results?

Finnish schools place a big emphasis on less is more, with a 15-minute break every 45 minutes built into their classroom schedule. Indeed, Finnish students spend less hours in class than their counterparts elsewhere in the developed world.

What does Finland do differently in education?

In Finland, students do not begin formal schooling until they're 7 years old. Instead they spend ages 3-6 in preschool, and because preschool is required by law in Finland, this means that 97% of students aged three to six are enrolled in school.

Do Finnish students have grades?

Grades are awarded on a scale from 4 to 10. In individual exams, but not on school year report or basic education certificate, it is also possible to divide the scale further with '½', which represents a half grade, and '+' and '–', which represent one-fourth a grade better or worse.

How long is the school day in Finland?

Finland School Hours

Typically, the Finnish school day starts anywhere from 9 to 9:45 a.m., and students typically spend only about five hours a day in the classroom.

What GPA is required for Finland?

Freshman Requirements

In the Finnish system: a minimum average of 8 out of 10, Goda, Hyva Tieto, Good. Or the equivalent in the U.S. system: a 'B' average or a 3.00 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.00 GPA grading scale. If your high school uses a different grading scale, please contact us.

Is education easy in Finland?

Yes. Finland's forward-thinking teaching and flexible education pathways make it one of the best education systems. It ranks 8th among the top 10 well-educated countries in 2023 by the World Population Review.

Does Finland have a good school system?

The Finnish education system is one of the best in the world. International students come in big groups yearly to experience a new way to learn higher education.

Are schools in Finland free?

In Finland, education is free at all levels for pupils and students. There are no tuition fees from pre-primary until higher education.

Do they do homework in Finland?

Finnish schools have a relatively low amount of homework.

Homework is seen more as a recap of what has been learned in the class but it is not supposed to take a hours of time at home. Usually students finish the rest of the assignments that was covered during the lesson and read through the next chapter.

Is it illegal to not go to school in Finland?

In Finland, all children go to school, because according to the law, all children must receive comprehensive education. Teachers are highly educated and the teaching is of high quality in all schools.

Does Finland allow homework?

The truth is that there is nearly no homework in the country with one of the top education systems in the world. Finnish people believe that besides homework, there are many more things that can improve child's performance in school, such as having dinner with their families, exercising or getting a good night's sleep.