Finland top of world school table

Finland has the best school system, according to the first results of a survey. The study of 40 countries, carried out by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) http://www.pisa.oecd.org , showed Finland top overall in maths, reading and science. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, PISA is a three-yearly appraisal of 15 year olds in the principal industralised countries, organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economic grouping. It aims to assess the knowledge and skills needed for full participation in society, rather than mastery of a curriculum.