Chapter 2 tackles a fundamental question: Was Finland also a high performer in education in the past? The answer provided in this chapter is as expected: no. This answer immediately invites a corollary question: What constitutes a good educational system, and which educational reforms have made such impressive progress possible in Finland? The core of this chapter is the insight that Finnish educational success in international comparisons can, at least to some extent, be understood through paradoxes. We can crystallize this notion with a simple principle in educational reform: Less is more. Chapter 2 provides evidence-based examples of how this paradoxical idea appears in the Finnish educational system today. It also suggests some explanations for changing trends in Finnish student performance in international student assessments since 2010.