ABSTRACT
National educational goals need to be reflected in school priorities if they are ever to be reached. Achieving nationwide science literacy is a declared goal in China, Japan, the two Germanies, and the USSR; and, appropriately, science and mathematics enjoy a priority second only to command of the native language in the schools of these five countries. In the specific details of science and mathematics education in the countries under review, diversity prevails. The high priority accorded science education is expressed most unmistakably in terms of course requirements. An unmistakable commitment to the achievement nationwide of science and technology literacy as well as the training of students for careers in science and technology. To be sure, in the American educational system students can elect to take more science and mathematics than is required for graduation. The countries studied here have taken measures to make instruction in science and mathematics as effective as possible, given the resources at hand.
