Agenda: Schools should learn Finnish lessons on intelligent accountability

Writing recently, the commentator Peter Wilby invited us to imagine "a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until age 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting. There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no private tuition industry, no league tables, no school uniforms." The country in question is Finland and its education system is widely regarded as one of the best in the developed world. I would argue that Scotland could emulate the Finnish model and make a significant contribution to the creation of a fairer, more just society.

The starting point would be the adoption of a system of "intelligent accountability". Curriculum for Excellence was based on the premise that teachers can be trusted and schools can self-evaluate. External scrutiny, if required, need only be light-touch, obviating the need for a heavy-handed inspection regime.

Within schools, our historical fixation with tests and exams should stop. For too long we have believed the old lie that that intelligence can be measured and that future achievement can be predicted on the basis of test scores. Even Curriculum for Excellence has become snagged by the imposition of grades and levels and by a failure to look critically at the role of examinations. In Scotland, rightly, we abandoned league tables of school performance (though the press seems unable to resist re-creating them on an annual basis). They are a crude measure at best and a distortion at worst. League tables take no account of the impact of social disadvantage, of private tuition or the vagaries of exam bodies.

The comprehensive school has served Scotland well, not least because it built on our unique tradition of omnibus schools which served local communities. But, a number of factors have conspired to undermine its potential for providing an appropriate education for all. Among these is the Thatcherite policy of parental choice, which has skewed the intake of comprehensive schools. As with the right-to-buy, it is time to consign this policy to the dustbin of history. All schools should be neighbour­hood, community schools where there is no selection, internal or external, on the basis of attainment, social class or religious affiliation. In a more egalitarian Scotland, private schools may well be seen as an anachronism which simply serves to exacerbate inequalities in society.

The biggest challenge in an independent Scotland is to make society fairer. In educational terms, this must include closing the gap between the achievement of young people from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds. We need to invest heavily in early-years provision, focusing on play, on creativity, on reading for pleasure and on socialisation. We need to ensure that our best teachers are working in areas where they are most needed and we need to build on current good practice to support struggling families to engage in and support their children's learning.

The lessons of Finland are there for all to see. Scottish schools are among the best in the world and can help civilise society, but to achieve that, they have to become more civilised themselves. Internal selection – streaming and setting – discriminates against those who are already disadvantaged. Too many children still live in poverty in the modern Scotland, and too many of them end up in 'bottom sets' within our schools. The challenge is clear; focus on closing the gap and promote achievement for all.

Brian Boyd is emeritus professor of education at the University of Strathclyde. He was a member of the Ministerial Review Group which produced A Curriculum for Excellence.