Reasons for success of Estonian education system sought by American education experts

At a meeting with Minister of Education and Research Jevgeni Ossinovski yesterday, US National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) president Marc Tucker and vice-president Betsy Brown Ruzzi discussed what it is that makes the Estonian education system so successful and how the country has come to be among the world’s best in the international PISA test. One of the reasons for the success of the Estonian education system given by Minister Ossinovski was the fact that it ensures equal opportunities for all children. “Our schools are remarkably effective at balancing out socioeconomic differences and fostering the abilities of all of the kids who attend them, even the weaker ones,” he said. “You get a very good education at every basic school in this country, our kids generally get a free school lunch and their teaching materials are guaranteed. That’s not the way it is in a lot of other countries.” He added that although basic school education in Estonia is among the best in the world based on PISA results, the country does face challenges in the field of education. “The PISA test has shown that we still don’t have a clear system of how to support the studies of our most able students,” he explained. “The fact we have so few students who are at the very top of the rankings is a real concern. We need to come up with an effective system in which schools, local governments and the state have clearly defined obligations in supporting bright kids.” NCEE president Marc Tucker is a recognised education specialist who provides advice on education to many organisations and agencies, including the US federal government. In 2014 he received the James Bryant Conant prize for his outstanding personal contribution to American education – the most prestigious prize in the field of education in the United States. Tucker is also an internationally recognised expert on educational reforms and national policy in countries with the best educational systems, and works closely with the OECD. Tucker is in Estonia in connection with the OECD conference ‘Education governance: The role of data’ being held in Tallinn on 12 & 13 February, at which he will be one of the keynote speakers. In addition to holding discussions with Minister Ossinovski and other officials from the Ministry of Education and Research, he will be meeting this week with representatives of general education and vocational schools, colleges and universities and the Innove foundation so as to plot out the reasons for Estonia’s success in the PISA tests and to compare them with those of other successful countries. He will also be speaking to representatives of the Estonian Qualifications Authority, entrepreneurs and those working in the field of the economy about whether Estonia’s education policy is in line with the needs of the labour market. Photos from the meeting