Should we send our children to Finland now?

Over the past few years Finland has risen to the top of the academic world.  Their graduation rates have steadily grown, and their students perform superbly on their one standardized test.  They have a very large percentage of their students who earn college degrees, and their unique education system is where all the credit should be given.  

Some more facts would include that Finland's graduation rate is 93%.  In the United States, we have a graduation rate of 75%.  Additionally, two thirds of Finnish students go on to college.  They also have had the highest mean scores for the PISA test - which is the Program for International Student Assessment.  In Finland, their standardized testing is kept to a minimum.  They only require one standardized test when their students are 16 years old.  However, in the United States a student will take approximately 10 standardized tests before they even reach 9th grade.  

So why are Finnish students preforming so much better academically then students in the United States?

Well to begin, their student to teacher ratio is half the size of the United States.  In Finland, their student to teacher ration is 1:12.  I think that as students and professors of Wartburg College, we all know the benefits of smaller class ratios.  Students tend to perform better from one on one time with teachers.  

Another reason that Finnish students are performing well, is that they are not separated because of ability.  In the United States students are sometimes separated into different rooms for those who are considered "special needs" and those who are labeled as "accelerated learners." In Finland, one out of every three students receives some sort of help in school, but they find it important not to ostracize these students.  Rather, they all learn in the same room. 

The students in Finland are also given "more time to be kids."  Students in the United States are given an average of 27 minutes of recess per day.  In Finland, students have recess for an average of about 75 minutes per day.  It has also been shown that Finnish students do not receive much homework until they are teenagers. 

One of the last major reasons that Finland seems to be outperforming the United States in academic measures is the way that Finland treats their teachers.  In Finland, teachers are seen as equals to other professionals such as doctors and lawyers.  All Finnish teachers are also required to have a master's degree - which by the way, is paid entirely by the state.  

So overall we know that in Finland they have smaller class sizes, more recess, less homework, and also teachers who are more highly regarded.  However, is this something that would be impossible for the United States to achieve due to slow moving government and a much larger education system compared to Finland?  I guess only time will tell us.