TENTH YEAR: Finland has world's best education system (29th November, 2012)

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A new report into world education shows Finland has the best system. The global study is called "The Learning Curve" and is from the British magazine "The Economist". It aims to help governments provide a better education to students. The 52-page report looked at the education system in 50 countries. Researchers analysed millions of statistics on exam grades, literacy rates, attendance, and university graduation rates. Asia did well in the report, with South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore finishing second, third, fourth and fifth. The United States came 17th in the study, while Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia filled the bottom three positions in the top 50.

The Learning Curve reported on five things that education leaders should remember. The first is that spending lots of money on schools and teachers does not always mean students will learn. Second is that "good teachers are essential to high-quality education". The report said teachers should be "treated as the valuable professionals they are, not as technicians in a huge, educational machine". Numbers three and four are that a country's culture must have a strong focus on the importance of education, and parents have a key part to play. Finally, countries need to "educate for the future, not just the present." The report said: "Many of today's job titles…simply did not exist 20 years ago."

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The article says Finland's kindergarten education is the best worldwide.	T / F
b.	A 50-page report looked at the education system of 52 countries.	T / F
c.	Researchers looked at attendance figures during their research.	T / F
d.	Mexico and Brazil were in the top 50 countries.	T / F
e.	The report made five suggestions for decision-makers in education.	T / F
f.	The report says spending more money will mean a better education.	T / F
g.	The report states parents should keep away from schools and teachers.	T / F
h.	It suggests we don't know what kind of jobs there will be in the future.	T / F

TOMADO DE http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com