<p>The Finnish schools may not officially start until age 7, but they have preschool for everyone- that effectively starts schooling earlier, even if it’s not the 3 R’s. A uniform society makes a huge difference- there are states I don’t want to move to because the locals allow religions to set the tone. The Finns also do severe tracking- options closed in HS. I wonder if testing results would be the same if all students, even those tracked into trades, took all tests. I wonder how many underperforming sons of doctors get tracked into the trades? Many “apples and oranges” issues. It would be so nice to achieve a utopian society, but impossible. I like the fact that the college bound get exposed to the whole range of society and abilities, if only in gym class. I like that public schools allow for diversity of opinions- something homeschoolers avoid (their kids may actually disagree with their parents’ philosophies- heaven forbid if they are contaminated by contradictory ideas before they are thoroughly brainwashed). Those that opt out of their “poor” schools need to become activists and make their tax dollars work for better schools. Those that need to confine their kids to their ideologies don’t have good ones if they can’t hold up to different ideas. Yes, I am thoroughly against homeschooling, except for the extremely gifted who don’t fit in with any peer group available locally.</p>