Originally Posted by Bostonian
East Asians do well on international math comparisons, but children of East Asian parents in the U.S. also do well in math.

Joanne Jacobs http://www.joannejacobs.com/2014/09/japanese-learn-math-in-cram-schools/ linked to a blog post by a Japanese writer Big Doubts on the NY Times Article: "Why Do Americans Stink at Math?" who pointed out that a large fraction of Japanese children attend afterschool (juku) programs, so to the extent that the Japanese are good at math, we don't know if the schooling or the afterschooling should get the credit. And if the afterschooling used the same teaching methods as the schooling, parents would be less likely to pay for it.

Maybe, but how many high-performing Asian (or other) kids in the US are going to Kumon/the Mathnasium/other tutoring services (or getting parental help)? At least in the American case, we can be reasonably sure that a lot of those kids are getting their knowledge from sources outside the schools.

I have a couple dozen random math books in my house (my analysis stuck to four Algebra 1 texts). I've also looked closely at every book my kids have brought home over the years, and I can say without reservation that today's mainstream US math books suck eggs.

I don't know about Japanese math books because I can't read Japanese. But my eldest went to a French school that used the French national curriculum. The math books he used were superior to the American books (I still have them). The Irish mathematics curriculum is also high-quality. Certainly, at least some students in those countries get extra help, but that fact doesn't diminish the quality of the math education in those places.

Last edited by Val; 09/30/14 03:43 PM. Reason: Clarity