Annotated Bibliography 1st Draft

Randolph, Kelli, and Dylinda Wilson-Younger. "Is No Child Left Behind Effective For All Students?" Parents Don't Think So." Online Submission (2012): ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

            In this article, the authors describe the pros and cons to the No Child Left Behind Act implemented by the Bush Administration in 2001. I plan on using the information to show government intervention in education in America, and then compare it to Finland. The first fact the article gives is how the “NCLB requires any schools receiving any types of federal funding to administer some type of standardized test to their students every year” (Randolph 1). The purpose of this is to measure the success of the students and the school as a whole, and to make sure the schools are staying on task by meeting the requirements set by the state. The hope of this program was is to have all students scoring proficiently by the 2013 – 2014 year. A question I have about this is, how close are we to reaching this goal? Have we made any progress at all with this program? If the schools don’t meet the AYP (adequate yearly progress) two years in a row they are labeled “in need of improvement.” When this happens they are provided technical assistance, parents may choose to send their students to a new school and the school must come up for a plan for improvement over the next two years. If it declines for three years, the school must provide free tutoring and education services to the students. How hard are these goals, and how do they vary from state to state? How often does a school need this?

“The NCLB has been praised, but mostly criticized. Many parents have praised the NCLB, because it allowed them to get their children out of failing schools and move them to better ones” (Randolph 2).  The NCLB Act has also provided resources such as computers to the classroom and improved test scores in multiple schools. What is the technology in the classrooms like in Finland? The bad parts of the NCLB Act include schools arguing that the goals set forth by the states are unattainable and the proper funding is not available either. “In an effort to improve test scores, many states have cut out their arts programs and in some cases have cut “nonessential” subjects such as social studies, foreign language, health, and science” (Randolph 3). How many of these classes does Finland provide? “President Obama along with the Secretary of Education also initiated “Race to the Top” as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” (Randolph 4). The article did not talk much about this, but it could be something I can use in my paper as a future outlook in America.      

Sahlberg, Pasi. "Lessons From Finland: Where The Country's Education System Rose To The Top In Just A Couple Decades." Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed For Quick Review 77.3 (2011): 18-24. ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

This article from the Education Digest is about the Finnish educational system. It gives most of the success to the teachers and the process they have to go through to be teachers, but there are other factors mentioned as well. “Today, three of five young Finns enroll in and 50% complete state-funded higher education after upper secondary school” (Pasi 1). How does this compare to the U.S.? One interesting thing stated throughout the article was how the Finnish system does not employ external standardized testing to drive the performance of schools or to inspect the schools and teachers. This is the opposite of how the American system works. The Finns devote lots of attention to personalized learning and creativity. “The progress of each student is judged more against his or her individual development are seen as a responsibility of the school, not external assessors” (Pasi 8). This is also the opposite of America. The Finland system uses personal judgment rather than statistical indicators.

“Teaching is consistently the most admired profession in opinion polls of high school graduates” (Pasi 2). Teaching is a hard profession to pursue though, suggests the article; “5,000 prospective teachers are selected from about 20,000 applicants” (Pasi 2). After the selection process, the hard part still has yet to come. “All teachers in Finnish primary, middle and high schools must hold a masters degree; preschool and kindergarten teachers must hold a bachelor’s degree” (Pasi 3). These are very high expectations to hold, and are not matched by most American teachers. It takes five to seven years for a teacher to complete their master’s degree. Once the teacher obtains their degree and position, it is usually a life time job; “an official estimate suggests that only 10% - 15% of teachers leave the profession during the course of their career” (Pasi 6). How does this compare to the U.S. expectancy of a teacher’s time in their position?     

Gokce, Asiye Toker, and Cevat Celep. "A Comparison Of Educational Systems Of Turkey, Malta, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Greece, Belgium, The Netherlands And Denmark." Online Submission (2011): ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

           

This article compares the differences between Finland and other European countries. It gives a better understanding of the Finnish system from beginning to end in respect to economic, social and educational boundaries. In Finland, 57% for primary and secondary education is from the government while 43% is from municipalities. What is the rate in America? In Finland students enter compulsory education at the age of seven. When they enter compulsory education the goal is to “teach children to carry a sense of responsibility, independence, creativity, peaceful relations with people and be compatible with Finnish society, and to set a good relationship between school and parents” (Asiye Toker 6). Another interesting fact pointed out about Finland is how close enrolment in private school is to public school. It is about 60% enrolment for public school and 40% for private school according to the graph on page 7. How similar are private and public schools in Finland?  “Once graduating the students will have a chance for registering to any school they want. Passing a skill exam is necessary for some vocational schools entrance” (Asiye Toker 8). 

            The starting and completing age for Finland is 16 and 19 for upper secondary education according to the graph on page 8. This is older than the U.S. system. “While universities highlight scientific research and instruction, technical schools emphasize “practice” in their strategic plans in Finland” (Asiye Toker 10). This seems similar to the U.S. The main focus of the Finnish university system is to provide conditions for free and autonomous studying. How hard are these schools to get into though? What is the application process like for universities in Finland? How much is tuition for the universities in Finland?