Finland - a country rich in intellectual and educational reform has initiated over the years a number of novel and simple changes that have completely revolutionized their educational system. They outrank the United States and are gaining on Eastern Asian countries. They are not stressing over standardized tests but believe in common sense practices and holistic teaching environment that strives for equity over excellence. Here are a few factors why Finland has been ranked the highest performing developed country on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment).

1.Better Standardized Tests: 

• They have one standardized test during their entire primary and secondary schooling. They believe that constant testing doesn't make students smarter rather creates an environment which spells out as "teaching to the test"
• Furthermore, their testing is called National Matriculation Examination which is graded by teachers and not computers. It is taken at the end of the high school year and comprises of a variety of complex topics such as "In what sense are happiness, good life and well-being ethical concepts?"
• The former director general at the Finland Ministry of Education Pasi Sahlberg states that studnts are asked to exhibit their ability to cope with issues related to evolution, politics, violence, ethics in sports, losing a job, sex, drugs etc. These require multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills. 

2. More Time for Play:

• Very little time is spent on homework according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
• Finnish students spend only 2.8 hours o their weekly time on homework which results in less anxiety and psychological issues. This was proven in a 2014 study where 15 year olds around the world were observed to have portrayed anger and frustration within them due to spending 6.1 hours on homework per week.

3. College is Free

• From bachelors all the way till doctorate degree, education is free of cost. There are no debts to worry about unlike the worries of an average American student. This opportunity is extended to foreign students as well.

4. Elevated Teaching Profession:

• The criteria to become a teacher in Finland is extremely high. Only one in 10 students qualify to become a teacher according to the Center on International Education Benchmarking (CIEB)
• Very few hours are spent on teaching the students and a lot of time is spent on preparing the lecture. 
• Even the pay scale of the teaching staff in Finland is slightly higher than the rest of the world. 

5. Make the basics a priority

• While most of the schools around the world are busy keeping tests and trying to achieve high scores and comprehension in Math and Science, they tend to forget what constitutes of happiness, healthy and harmonious learning environment. Finland has changed their way of learning and returned back to the basics. Their focus is all about creating school environment an equitable place. 
• Since the 1980s, Finnish educators have put their focus to the following things: education should be an instrument to balance out social inequality, all schools receive free meals, ease of access to health care, psychological counseling and individualised guidance.

6. Consistent Instruction from the same teacher

• In Finland a student may have the same teacher till up to six years. The reason behind this is that students can build a bond with the teacher in the form of a mentor or even family member. The basic purpose is that students are in their comfort zone when they are acquiring education and are not simply nodding heads in each classroom with strangers teaching each subject. 
• To have consistent intruction is a way for teachers to understand student's own idiosyncratic needs. Teachers and chart and monitor the students goals and care for their progress.
• There is no passing along to the next teacher, because there isn't one.

The above mentioned pointers highlights the factors that distinguishes Finnish schools fromt the rest of the world. Their New Learning is based on going back to the basics where education was not a means to create competition or striving to stay ahead. While still staying in the formal institutionalised setup, they focus on educating the students on metadisciplinary education. They take education as a means to excel not using competition in education as a means to excel. 

source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/10-reasons-why-finlands-education-system-is-the-best-in-the-world

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-finland-beats-america-on-education-2016-11