When Less is More

Recently I read an article at Smithsonian.com that told how Finland’s educational system had gone from a distant also-ran to a world leader over the past 40 years.
In a global study in 2000, Finnish students were first in reading. In 2003 they led in math. By 2006 they were first in science.

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As I read through the article, I was so intrigued that I searched for more answers. I was amazed not only to hear how rapidly and completely they had turned around their system but also how they did it through the implementation of simple sparing strategies. In fact, what amazed me the most is what they didn’t do.

• They didn’t start children in school until age 7.
• They don’t assign homework to younger students.
• They don’t separate students who are struggling or learning differently.
• They don’t spend as much per student as we do; they spend 30% less.
• Students don’t attend school as many hours as their American counterparts.
• They don’t give grades in elementary school.
• They don’t test students for the first 6 years.
• They don’t use standardized testing until age 16 and then only once.
• Teachers don’t spend as many hours in the classroom as American teachers – only 4 hours per day on average.

And here are some things that they do:

• Teachers participate in 2 hours of staff development per week.
• Elementary students get 75 minutes of recess per day.
• They cap science classes at 16 students to allow hands-on learning.
• Teachers are selected from the top tier of college graduates.
• Experienced teachers out earn other college graduates.

In fact, it seems that what they do is what research has been telling us will work for the past few decades. In my 35 years in education I have seen the length of the school year grow by over a week, yet the days dedicated to testing have consumed all those days and more. We have a net loss of instructional time. I have seen recess and physical education eaten away also along with the arts and electives. I believe that constructivist curricula such as the Common Core Math Standards is a move in the right direction, but maybe we need to do much more…or much less.
What are your thoughts?
 
Resources:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/?no-ist=&=&no-cache=_page%3D2_page%3D5_page%3D1&page=1
http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12?op=1
http://fillingmymap.com/2015/04/15/11-ways-finlands-education-system-shows-us-that-less-is-more/