The document provides information about education in Finland. It includes statistics on the number of weekly lessons in elementary, middle, and secondary school. It also outlines the basic structure of the Finnish education system and discusses topics like holding teachers accountable, standardized testing, and grade repetition. Links are provided to additional resources on Finnish education from a newspaper and the National Board of Education.

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Thoughts to share on education in Finland
Marianna Sydänmaanlakka
Guidance counselor, Coordinator of The Distance Learning Center
Sotunki Upper Secondary School
City of Vantaa, Finland

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Some statistics
 Number of lessons (45min) per week:
 Elementary school (grades 1-6 – 7yrs-12yrs) 19-24
 Middle school (grades 7-9 – 13yrs-16yrs) 30
 Number of school days: 190 per annum

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11. + Basic structure
of the Finnish
education system

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Discussion topics
“…holding teachers accountable for
student achievement….”
“…..students in grades one through nine
spend from 4-11 periods each week taking
classes in art, music, cooking, carpentry,
metalwork, and textiles…..”
“…..heavy standardized testing….” vs.
“…..give exams to small but statistically
significant samples of students and to trust
teachers….”
“……consequences of grade repetition were too stigmatizing to
be effective and that students would be better off being tutored by
learning specialists in areas of academic weakness…..”

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Links
 Articles on Finnish education – my newspaper:
 http://www.scoop.it/t/education-in-finland
 The National Board of Education:
 http://oph.fi/english