The "Filling My Map"
blog article by a traveling teacher features three reasons for high Finnish performance on the PISA:
1) "
Law of Averages... every student learns what they need to learn and does quite well at the basics, but not much more. There are very few high achievers... Finland only had around 15% reach a top performing category..."
2) Students are taught to the test, which features simple math and logic problems rather the types of calculations and number-crunching taught in the USA.
3) Students begin taking yearly physics classes (and thus learning applied mathematics) from an early age.
Doing well on the PISA does not equate with being well educated.
