Equal Opportunities in Education of Science, Mathematics and Technology

We are raising a question if our education system in Finland is still providing equal opportunities for everybody in education of Science and Mathematics and Technology. We are using as indicators recent results of three international assessments: The Program for International Student Assessment, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and The learning curve in Science and Mathematics. There are a lot of research done internationally and nationally based on the results of these assessments and the background information connected to them. These assessments have also started rich discussions in news and in newspapers.
Basic Education Act 1998 in Finland gives every child a right to go to the close by neighborhood school, assigned by the local school authorities, and parents a freedom to choose some another school for their child. In addition, some local schools have a right to emphasize certain areas of education and to choose their students based on suitability tests. Connected to these issues, we are describing some research results concerning the status of schools and selection of schools in Helsinki area.