The average level of mathematics skills among ninth graders in Finnish schools has declined in comparison to 20 years ago, according to a report by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre.

While the study found that there were no significant differences in maths skills between girls and boys or between students from urban and rural areas, there was a noticeable - and growing - gap between the strongest and the weakest students.

Data for the report was compiled via an electronic test completed by about 12,500 ninth grades - usually aged between 14 and 15 years old - from schools across Finland, and measured the students' skills from basic maths to algebra and geometry.

The results revealed that pupils are now clearly divided into three distinct categories: highly-skilled students at the top, average students in the middle, and very weak students lagging far behind. In the past, the situation in Finland has been much closer to the Gaussian function or "bell curve," with the middle average comprising a significant majority.

No more "average majority"

Jari Metsämuuronen, an assessment analyst at the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre, told Yle that the Covid pandemic is one factor behind the widening gap between strong and weak students.

"Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the student's own autonomy has a greater importance. Top students have been able to develop faster than before without being slowed down by weaker students. At the same time, students who have less autonomy and have not received support at home may get lost," Metsämuuronen explained.

During the remote learning periods triggered by the pandemic, autonomy, self-motivation and family support have played a much bigger role than before.

Metsämuuronen further pointed out that maths skills can be affected by young people's relationship with modern technology: because of the ubiquity of the smartphone, there is no need for young people to memorise formulas or numbers any more. The most important skill in coping with everyday life is to be able to search for information, Metsämuuronen said, not necessarily to absorb and remember it.

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Metsämuuronen has been involved in the centre's evaluations since 1998, and this is the first time that the level of maths skills has not been distributed in a relatively even way. Future studies will reveal whether this is a one-off result or the "new normal," he added.

"The division of the population into groups that are differentiated in terms of competence can have a significant impact on equality," he said.

Regardless of the effects of the pandemic, the maths skills of young people in Finland are clearly in decline. A similar study conducted by the centre at the turn of the century found the average level of mathematics competence among young people to be around 527. This figure has fallen to 451 in the latest study.

This equates to an average decrease of about two grades in a mathematics test for the average young Finnish person, Metsämuuronen pointed out, meaning that while the average ninth-grade student was getting an eight on a maths test in 2000, they are now getting a six.

"The drop is big. This may be part of a general decline: previously, young people memorised an average of about 20 phone numbers. Today they are all just stored on their phones. But it is also possible that these students have learned something other than mathematics, something that cannot yet be measured in schools," Metsämuuronen added.

"Significant" differences between schools in Helsinki region

The study also found that while there are no huge gaps when comparing groups of municipalities, there are large differences between different regions.

The situation in the north of Finland in particular has raised both eyebrows and questions, Metsämuuronen said. In Lapland, the average level in the 2021 assessment was 395, while the best regions in southwestern Finland averaged about 468.

"The results are radically different. We are now checking whether some technical issues may have affected the outcome," Metsämuuronen said, adding that a more regretful explanation may be that students in Lapland have suffered more from the difficulties caused by remote learning.

Another, and in Metsämuuronen's opinion more significant, regional divergence is taking place within the Helsinki metropolitan area, where notably large gaps have arisen between schools in terms of mathematics skills.

This raises concerns about whether parents in the capital region are going "school shopping," he said, as well as the standard of schools in less well-off districts of the capital. The term "school shopping" refers to parents selecting a top-performing school for their child even if they do not live within the school's catchment area.

"What is the mechanism by which one school in Finland becomes weaker than another? Usually the private school system attracts the most talented students, but our private schools do not explain these differences," Metsämuuronen said.

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A further cause of particular concern in the Helsinki metropolitan area, also reflected in other urban areas around the country, was the maths skills of girls from an immigrant background.

While the maths skills of students from an immigrant background are generally weaker than those of Finnish-background students, girls of S2 status (Finnish as a second language) were found to be particularly weak in mathematics.

Some 10 percent of young people who speak Finnish as their mother tongue have a low level of math skills, or a level between 300 and 350, while about 22.5 percent of girls from an immigrant background are at this competence level.

"We will probably get more information next spring about the reasons behind this. But whether they are social or cultural or related to language skills, this needs to be addressed," Metsämuuronen said.

A difficult equation

The problems and challenges raised by the report will be difficult to solve, Metsämuuronen conceded, and he and his research team have no direct solutions for any of the issues they presented.

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Some of the challenges for schools are of the age-old, deep-set variety. For example, Metsämuuronen noted that there is always a difference between the results of girls and boys in the statistics, although this can depend on the subject being studied.

On average, girls get about half a grade higher marks than boys in maths tests.

Metsämuuronen said he thinks that gender roles often affect results, and that these are not easily resolved.

"We still have different expectations for girls and boys," he said.

In terms of the gaps in maths skills, Metsämuuronen said that the reasons are still being investigated.

"During the coronavirus era, an obvious shortage of skills has arisen. We have groups that need help," he said.

Metsämuuronen added that solutions are also needed to tackle some of the issues highlighted by the report in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

"But by what means? I cannot really say. But if the gaps grow too far, national action will be needed. There may be a big political debate about this," he said.

The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre plans to assess competencies in other subjects over the coming two years, and Metsämuuronen said that the results will provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of overall skills - including how they relate to the results of the report on maths.

The impact of regional, language and background factors on competence will also become clearer when a more detailed analysis is completed.

Metsämuuronen added that he and his colleagues have much to do.

"Finland is a bit obsessed with the issue of equality, and I think that's great," he concluded.