NOTE: This is part 2 of a 2 part series which starts here.
The students & their culture
When making international comparisons one is rarely comparing like populations. Sometimes this problem is in the testing procedures, as pointed out in a previous post, “No such thing as high school comparisons with TIMSS.” Yet, even when the playing field is thought to be even, other factors do affect outcome.
In Finland there is very little immigration [1], and so most of the population speaks the language of their teachers. In the United States, land of diversity, where people from all over the world have flocked for a better opportunity, or flee oppressive situations, 20% (1 out of 5) people speak a language other than English at home [2]. Between 1994 and 2004 limited English proficient students increased by 65% [3]. This means that American schools have seen a sharp increase in students that have to overcome the challenge of learning in a language other than their own.
