State Representative Jen Benson speaks about her trip to Finland to observe the educational system and why it is so successful. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Speaking in Harvard on Dec. 13, State Rep. Jen Benson expressed pride in Massachusetts' top ranking by the National Assessment of Education Progress, often called "the nation's report card." But it is not enough for Massachusetts to be an educational leader in the United States, Benson warned.

"We have to be globally competitive," she said.

Benson got her start in public office with the Lunenburg School Committee and currently serves on the state legislature's Joint Committee on Education. So when she had an opportunity to travel with a group of educators to Finland, which regularly scores at or near the top on international educational comparisons, she was eager to go. About 30 educators took part in the eight-day trip, which included visits to two schools and discussions with educational policymakers.

Finland has frequently ranked first or second in reading, math, and science, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment. On the same tests, the United States has generally scored near the middle of the pack. (Not all nations take part, and ranks differ from one subject area to another.)

Benson admitted that she had gone on the trip with some "preconceived ideas" and that she had hoped to find "a silver bullet" that would lead to dramatic improvements in American schools. Instead, she found that many factors contributed to Finland's educational success.

Finland has the advantage of a small, homogeneous population, Benson said, with a shared language. In fact, it has two shared languages, as all students learn both Finnish and Swedish, she said.

Although diversity has increased in Finland recently, schools there do not face nearly as many language differences among their students as many urban schools do in the United States.

On the other hand, Finland also has some special difficulties in education, Benson explained. With about the same number of people as Massachusetts but an area roughly as big as New Mexico, Finland is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Providing education for the widely scattered households in the rural areas is both challenging and expensive, Benson said.

According to Benson, Finland decided during the 1970s that educated people were going to be the country's primary resource, given that the country had few natural resources on which to build its economy. The policy of "a knowledge-based economy" has had consistent support from all political parties since then, she said. As a result, schools focus strictly on academic education, with no sports or extracurricular activities. Those interests are left to clubs outside of school.

Asked if Finland had a longer school year or longer school days than Massachusetts, Benson said those factors were about the same in each country.

Among the features that Benson said impressed her about the Finnish educational system were the high educational standards for all teachers, beginning with the five-year master's program required for teachers in the universal pre-schools for children from ages one to six. Only the top 10 percent of high-school graduates qualify for admission to teacher training at university, Benson said, making education a prestigious career.

All education is free and fully funded by the state, from pre-school through university, Benson said. Teachers' contracts and salary scale are set at the national level, she said, but there is considerable local autonomy for curriculum. When Benson asked to see the curriculum framework for the country, she said she was surprised to be handed a thin paper pamphlet only about 20 pages long.

"They have much less complexity and bureaucracy around the schools than we do," Benson said.

Principals have primary authority over each school, with no superintendents in the system. Nor are teachers evaluated, although first-year teachers work with a co-teacher.

Benson's talk took place at the Harvard Public Library. It drew several educators from Littleton, Sudbury, Acton-Boxborough, and Harvard, though overall attendance was low.