ABSTRACT
PoorperformancebyAmericanstudentsontestsof mathematicsandsciencehasreachedthelevelofa nationalcrisis.Whyisthis?Studyafterstudyhasreportedononeoranotherfacetofthelowstandingof
5Americansininternationalcompetition.Forexample, inarecentcross-nationalstudyofmathematics achievement,Americanstudentsintheeighthand twelfthgradeswerebelowtheinternationalaveragein problemsolving,geometry,algebra,calculus,andother
10areasofmathematics.Incontrast,Japaneseeighth gradersreceivedthehighestaveragescoresofchildren from20countries,and,atthetwelfth-gradelevel, JapanesestudentsweresecondonlytoChinesestudentsinHongKong(Garden,1987).Wemustaskwhy
15thisisthecase.WhyareChinesestudentsconsistently amongthetopscorersincross-nationalstudiesof achievementandAmericanstudentsconsistentlybelow theinternationalaverage?
