Countries

Finnish education in Illinois

Illinois runs its own set of K-5 learning standards covering language arts, maths, science, social science and social emotional learning, decided locally by each district. Finnish pedagogy offers a complementary way of delivering that same content, built around play, phenomenon based projects and less standardised testing.

In brief

The Illinois Learning Standards set expectations across language arts, maths, science, social science, health and social emotional learning for every public school pupil.
Illinois has adopted the Common Core standards for English language arts and maths, and the Next Generation Science Standards for science.
Local districts in Illinois, including Chicago, make their own instructional and curricular decisions within those state standards.
A Finnish curriculum school or programme in Illinois would need to map its phenomenon based projects and transversal competencies against the state's required standards.

How Illinois structures K-5 learning

Illinois sets learning standards rather than a single prescribed curriculum, leaving individual school districts to choose textbooks, programmes and teaching methods that meet those standards. This local flexibility is one reason a Finnish curriculum influenced programme can operate within Illinois more easily than in states with a single mandated curriculum.

Where Finnish methods fit alongside Illinois standards

Finland's phenomenon based learning modules can be mapped onto Illinois social science, science and language arts standards at the same time, since a single project often touches several subjects. Finland's transversal competencies line up closely with Illinois's social and emotional learning standards for early and late elementary grades.

What families in Illinois should look for

Families considering a Finnish pedagogy programme in Illinois should ask how the school tracks progress against required state standards, since Illinois still expects state assessments in English language arts, maths and science even where daily teaching looks very different from a typical American classroom.

Frequently asked questions

Does Illinois require standardised testing even in a Finnish pedagogy school?

Yes. Any school operating in Illinois, including one using Finnish teaching methods, still needs to prepare pupils for the state assessments required in English language arts, maths and science at the relevant grades.

Can a Finnish curriculum programme meet Illinois learning standards?

It can, provided the school maps its phenomenon based projects and subject teaching against the specific Illinois Learning Standards for each grade, since the standards describe required outcomes rather than a fixed method of teaching.

Is Finnish education available in Chicago specifically?

See our dedicated page on Finnish education in Chicago for city level detail on schools and programmes.

Bring Finnish pedagogy to your school

OPPI affiliates a selective cohort of schools each year for its K-5 Finnish-pedagogy programme, backed by Education Finland. Tell us about your school and our team will reach out.

Backed by Education Finland. Over 20 schools have already affiliated, including DPS, Radcliffe and Sanctus. Places in each cohort are limited.

Apply to the affiliation cohort →