Lowell High School is one of San Francisco’s most competitive public schools

The United States is famous throughout the world for its higher education; names like Yale, Harvard, Cal and MIT are recognized from Algeria to Zambia. Yet, how does a country with such powerhouse universities score so middle of the road in primary schooling? The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), developed and monitored by the OECD, has found US students to be below average in mathematics, ranking 34 out of 63 competing countries. While the students did better in reading and science, they were still unable to crack the top 20 of competing countries in any of the three main subjects. Poor test scores are not tied to a lack of funds, as only Austria, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland pay more per student among countries associated with PISA. The US spends $115,000 on education per child. So how do the other countries do it? We looked at two case studies that yield similar results through dramatically different means. finland vs korea Finland is continuously ranked the highest in education around the world. After initiating huge education reforms decades ago, Finland has abandoned the centralized model of education that is based on testing and evaluation. Furthermore:

  • Finnish children start school after age seven, and are not measured for the first six years of school. There is only one mandatory standardized test in Finland, taken at age 16.
  • All children regardless of ability are taught in the same classrooms.
  • Elementary students in Finland get 75 minutes of recess a day versus an average of 27 minutes in the US.
  • 93 percent of Finns graduate from high school (17.5% higher than the US).
  • Teachers spend 4 hours a day in the classroom, and take 2 hours a week for “professional development.” Teachers are selected from the top 10% of graduates, and are given the same status as doctors and lawyers
  • The school system is 100% state funded.

South Korea is ranked alongside Finland as one of the best countries for education, yet the educational methods employed are starkly different. South Korean students and families participate in the “world’s fiercest competition for a top-of-the-line education,” with many children beginning English tutoring in kindergarten. Furthermore, many families split up in order to get the best education for their children: “Government data [from 2012] showed that 10 percent of married couples now live apart, twice the rate of 2000. Families who separate for the sake of education have become so commonplace, they even have a name: kirogi kajok, or goose families, because their reunions require a migration.”Education experts say Koreans have mixed emotions about their education system. On one hand, Koreans are among the world’s elite students: they have the top reading and math scores, as well as the highest rates for high school and college graduation, among 37 countries ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But Korean students also rank among the world’s unhappiest, and for the last few years, suicide has become the top cause of death for young Koreans.

After initial discussion on  South Korea and Finland , Summer Institute participants were challenged to create their own high school curriculum based on the University of California system’s A-G requirements.  While the groups all had some variation in what they considered to be of key importance, all of them believed developing a second language was integral to student development. Some other ideas included strengthening geography and cultural studies, developing math programs with real world applications and a heavier emphasis on world history. One of the challenges was the decision to highlight certain subjects at the expense of others. After all, there are only so many courses a student can take in high school. As the groups shared their revisions of the A-G requirements, it quickly became evident that choice and the ability to explore passions was a common denominator to their dream education.

Educators, if you would like to use this activity in your classroom, we welcome you to download our Reading Packet on International Education and Comparing Education Systems worksheet. 

By Netta Ascoli, Education Program Officer and Samir Belkacem, Education Program Intern