Many upper secondary school principals in Helsinki say they would like the system of school evaluations to be broadened, using other factors than test scores and grades. The principals say that numbers alone do not tell the whole story about what a school can offer students.
On Monday the Matriculation Examination Board has released this year's test results of high schools across the country.
This year's top three performing schools are Espoo's Tapiola Upper Secondary School (ETIS, founded in 1958) and Helsinki's Ressu Upper Secondary School, established in 1891, and Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu (SYK), which dates back to 1886. All offer International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programmes.
Helsinki area dominates
Only one of the top 10 high schools is from outside the capital region: Puolalanmäki Upper Secondary School in Turku, which has been in operation since 1928. The top-scoring Swedish-language school was Gymnasiet Lärkan, which was set up in Helsinki in 1882.
Last year the highest-ranked school was the tiny school in Enontekiö in the far north-western arm of Finnish Lapland – which only had one graduate. The next three were the same as this year’s top trio, and as in 2014.
Tapiola had 128 graduates, while the rest of the top ten had between 80 and 170 each.
Languages and math required
The comparison is based on average points earned on examinations in each student’s four obligatory subjects. All pupils are required to take an exam in their native language (usually Finnish), as well as three of the four following: a second domestic language (typically Swedish), a foreign language (most often English), mathematics and one other from the natural sciences or humanities.
Grades are weighted on a scale, with honours scores (laudatur, comparable to summa cum laude) are worth seven points while minimum passing (approbatur) grades are worth two points. Tapiola graduates scored an average of 6.17 points out of seven in the obligatory subjects - the only school to surpass the 6-point threshold.
