In Finland, the national Core Curriculum for Basic Education defines the learning objectives along with the numerical grade to be given for good competence in each school subject in the final phase of basic education. While serving as a guideline for schools and teachers, it should also ensure an objective evaluation of all students in Finland. In this paper, we take a closer look at the equality of student assessment in Finland in the light of student performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. This study investigates the relationship between the grades given to students in mother tongue and literature at different schools and the same students' reading literacy performance in PISA 2009. The results are presented as a map produced using a method called kriging (McCoy and Johnston 2001). Kriging is a geostatistical interpolation method based on the statistical relationship among measured points' spatial autocorrelation. In this case, the method produces contour maps illustrating areal differences for educational variables. The contour maps and related analysis indicate that teachers tend to adjust their grading practices to the general competence level of their class or school rather than strictly following the national curriculum guideline for student assessment. This may lead to local variations in terms of students' school grades as indices of learning achievement and becomes evident when contrasted with an external, nationwide reference point, such as their reading literacy performance in PISA 2009.

Perusopetuksen ja lukiokoulutuksen uudet opetussuunnitelmat otettiin käyttöön syksyllä 2016. Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteissa historianopetusta suunnataan entistä vahvemmin tiedonalalähtöisyyteen eli historiallisen ajattelun opiskeluun. Lukion opetussuunnitelma puolestaan rakentuu edelleen vahvasti myös sisältöjen opiskelun varaan. Artikkelissa tarkastelemme, miten peruskoulun yläluokkien ja lukion historianopettajat suhtautuvat tuoreisiin opetussuunnitelmalinjauksiin. Aineistomme koostuu keväällä 2017 historian opettajille (N=339) tekemämme kyselyn tuloksista. Sen perusteella peruskoulun yläluokilla työskentelevät opettajat suhtautuvat varsin myönteisesti uuteen opetussuunnitelmaan. Lukio-opettajat puolestaan ovat kriittisempiä oman ohjausdokumenttinsa henkeen. Kumpikin opettajaryhmä toivoi perusteiden ohjaavan selkeämmin arviointia. Artikkelissa nostamme esille opettajien näkemyksiä opetussuunnitelmissa esitetyistä opetuksen tavoitteista, sisällöistä ja arviointikriteereistä. Artikkelimme antaa viitteitä siitä, miten uusien opetussuunnitelmien linjaukset toteutuvat opettajien työssä ja mihin opettajat kaipaisivat muutosta, kun lukion opetussuunnitelman uudistaminen ja perusopetuksen arviointikriteerien työstäminen käynnistyvät lukuvuoden 2018–2019 aikana.

The paper addresses Finnish students’ perceptions of assessment practices in upper secondary school. We study what experiences students have about assessment, and how they assess their ability to use and understand teachers’ feedback. The data were gathered on a web-based questionnaire to 918 students in four upper secondary schools. The questionnaire contained both closed-ended and open-ended questions. According to students’ responses, most students consider that they are able to use and understand their teachers’ feedback, and that teachers are prone to apply traditional assessment methods. The results pave the way for enhancing versatility in assessment practices. At the end of this paper, we will discuss the important role of assessment in teaching and how teachers’ assessment literacy could be enhanced and made more visible. We also ponder whether alongside teachers’ assessment literacy we should also consider students’ assessment literacy.

This chapter discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with the inclusive use of digital portfolios in pedagogical documentation in Finnish early childhood education (ECE), and examines children's participation and agency in the process. To this end, we draw on empirical data from the research and development programme of three Finnish municipalities and their ECE centres. Altogether, the empirical data comprise the digital portfolios of 71 children from six ECE groups each comprising of children aged 3 to 5 years old. We demonstrate how the construction of digital portfolios in these ECE groups produced a dynamic tension between the adults' and children's agency; between digital archiving and narrative documentation of the children's lived experiences; and between documentation and reflection. The results also indicate how digital portfolios created inequality among the children regarding the ways in which the children were seen and heard in their portfolios, and how they were able to participate and demonstrate agency in this process. The chapter concludes by considering the conditions of participatory work in ECE classrooms in which the child's agency matters. Chapter 9: "My treasure box": Pedagogical documentation, digital portfolios and children's agency in Finnish early years education

Basic education of the future-Let's turn the trend! was a development project on compulsory education in Finland. The aim was to assess the current situation, examine the reasons for the drop in the learning outcomes at the national and international levels and study the needs to develop teaching and learning in the Finnish educational system. Two working groups coordinated by a broad-based steering group were set up for the purposes of the project. The objective of the working group on competence and learning was to discover means to improve learning outcomes, bridge the gap in the learning outcomes between girls and boys, ensure regional equality, safeguard equal opportunities for further studies and halt the trend of increasing disparities within and between schools. The project also examined the position of minorities and their learning outcomes in the Finnish educational system. The working group on motivation and teaching explored different learning environments, study materials including educational games, and innovations that support learning, investigated how learning motivation and wellbeing could be improved, and assessed the significance of motivation and school satisfaction for learning and school attendance. The group members also looked at the content and methods of education and pre-and in-service training for teachers. In the autumn an online survey was organized and 7,000 people responded. Also, six regional events were held in late autumn in 2014. The purpose of these events was to facilitate an extensive public discussion about the future of basic education. The working groups' proposals as well as the results of the survey were presented in more detail at the beginning of March when the report on this development project was published. The proposals are to be exploited in the drawing up of the government programme after the next parliamentary elections in April 2015.