Finland is much in the news these days because of its success on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations.

And just as consistently, the variance in quality among Finnish schools is the least of all nations tested, meaning that Finnish students can get a good education in virtually any school in the nation.

What makes the Finnish school system so amazing is that Finnish students never take a standardized test until their last year of high school, when they take a matriculation examination for college admission.

One theme that has already emerged is the prevalence of trust that schools and their faculties will do what is in the best interest of students.

“We train the people and then leave it to them. The focus is on teacher professionalism. We talk about central steering, not central control.”

Key decisions, such as class size and textbook selection, are locally controlled.

Finland has vastly improved in reading, math and science literacy over the past decade in large part because its teachers are trusted to do whatever it takes to turn young lives around.

“This is what we do every day, prepare kids for life.”

“Whatever it takes” is an attitude that drives not just Kirkkojarvi’s 30 teachers, but most of Finland’s 62,000 educators in 3,500 schools from Lapland to Turku—professionals selected from the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates to earn a required master’s degree in education