An excellent article on the ONLY external standardized test in Finland - the National Matriculation Examination:
“Many Americans who visit Finland to examine its education system are
surprised by how rarely students are required to take standardized tests
during their 12 years of schooling. They learn that students are
primarily assessed by multiple teacher-made tests that vary from one
school to another. At the national level sample-based student
assessments similar to the National Assessment of Educational Progress
that have no stakes for students, teachers, or schools are the main
means to inform policy-makers and the public on how Finland’s school
system is performing. Teachers and principals in Finland have a strong
sense of professional responsibility to teach their children well but
also to judge how well children have learned what they are supposed to
learn according to curriculum designed by teachers.
This customized school system that attempts to meet local and
individual needs is a poor host for external inspections and
standardized tests. 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. At the time of writing this over 30,000 Finnish high
school students are taking this all-important examination that enjoys
high esteem as a sign of being a mature, educated person in Finnish
society.
Only a few education tourists to Finland have an opportunity to
explore this 162-year-old establishment of Finnish education system in
depth. Although the examination has changed profoundly during the years,
its existence has never been seriously challenged. Most Finns,
including students and teachers, are happy with one examination given at
the end of high school rather than more frequent tests and the
side-effects that often come with them during the course of schooling.
The Matriculation Examination is administrated by an external board
appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Board has about
40 members consisting of university professors, high school teachers,
and education policy-makers. Exams are prepared and marked by separate
subject committees that have altogether some 330 associate members. The
Secretariat of the Board that is responsible for technical matters
related to employing, safeguarding and managing the examination has a
staff of 22 people. Typical examination fee per student for five exams
is about USD200. Entire administration of the Examination is financed
from these student-paid fees.
What is the structure of this exam and what does it measure? First,
students must take at least four individual tests in order to be awarded
the Matriculation Examination certificate. An exam assessing students’
competencies of mother tongue (Finnish, Swedish or Saami) is compulsory
for everybody. Second, each student chooses three further tests from the
following pool: second domestic language (e.g. Swedish), foreign
language (most often English), mathematics, and one test from the
humanities and sciences category. Additionally, students may add
optional exams in the following subjects: various foreign languages,
history, civics, biology, geography, physics, chemistry, health
education, psychology, philosophy, ethics, and religious studies.
Exams are offered twice a year, in September and March-April. Student
musts complete all required tests of the examination within three
consecutive exam periods of up to six hours each. All tests, except
listening and reading comprehension in second domestic and foreign
languages, are pencil-and-paper tests, typically requiring extensive
writing in open-ended tasks.
Teachers whose students are taking the exam in school first read the
test papers and give their initial marks. Then the Board’s subject
committee members give their final marks independently from what
teachers have marked to each exam that then leads to a grade. Subjects
are graded using a seven-point scale adjusted to normal distribution.
This means that number of top grades and failed grades in each exam is
approximately 5 percent. One failed exam can be compensated by good
performance in other exams. Exams and their grades are included in the
Matriculation Examination Certificate that is awarded to a student who
successfully passes the mandatory exams and has sufficiently completed
required high school studies.
The Finnish Matriculation Examination is a measure of students’
general academic maturity, including their readiness to continue studies
in higher education. A student’s successful performance on the
Matriculation Examination becomes an asset to his or her university
application. Whereas the California High School Exit Examination
(CAHSEE) is guided by the list
of “potentially biased, sensitive, or controversial” topics, the
Finnish examination does the opposite. Students are regularly asked to
show their ability to cope with issues related to evolution, losing a
job, dieting, political issues, violence, war, ethics in sports, junk
food, sex, drugs, and popular music. Such issues span across subject
areas and often require multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills.
Below are some examples from this spring’s Matriculation Examination:
Sample essay topics:“Some politicians, athletes and other celebrities have publicly regretted and apologized for what they have said or done. Discuss the meaning of the apology and accepting it as a social and personal act.”Sample health education questions:
“Has your body become your hobby?”
“Media is competing for audiences – what are the consequences?”
“Choose three world religions and compare the role and use of a holy image within them.”
“What is the basis of dietary recommendations in Finland and what is their aim?”Sample psychology question:
“Compare chlamydia and condyloma.”
“Design a study to find out how personality affects individuals’ behavior on Facebook or other social media. Discuss the ethical considerations for that type of study.”Sample history question:
“Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels predicted that a socialist revolution would first happen in countries like Great Britain. What made Marx and Engels claim that and why did a socialist revolution happen in Russia?”Sample philosophy and ethics questions:
“In what sense are happiness, good life and well-being ethical concepts?”
“High school students often require that they are served a particular diet as their school lunch. Reasons may be medical, religious, ethical or moral. Describe students’ requirements and their reasons; and assess the righteousness of having any particular diet in school.”
The mathematics exam consists of 15 problems of which student can
choose no more than ten. The mathematics exam held this spring is available (in Finnish) here. The English-as-a-foreign-language written exam (also includes a listening comprehension test) can be viewed here.
Finland’s universities still offer world-class academic studies free
of tuition fees for all students (including foreign students), and most
degree programs are offered in English. If an American wishes to study in Finland without
the burden of college fees, she or he is expected to be on par with
Finnish students in variety of knowledge domains, some of which may not
be included in CAHSEE or other American high school exit tests. If your
path brings you to learn in Finland, be prepared to engage in deep
discussions about politics, religion, poverty, spiders, junk food, young
people questioning authority and other topics absent from the tests you
took in high school, regardless how you feel about these topics.
College readiness is to be ready to deal with all aspects of the world
we live in, not just those that resonate well with your own.“
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