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What East Asian Countries Can Teach Us About Math Education

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The wall of a U.S. kindergarten classroom. (woodleywonderworks/Flickr)
The wall of a U.S. kindergarten classroom. (woodleywonderworks/Flickr)

Every four years, a math and science assessment is given around the world, to more than 600,000 students. It's called the TIMSS — Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study — and it compares students, country to country, by age.

In 2015, the latest year of results, 10-year-olds in the U.S. placed 14th in math. Fourteen-year-olds placed 10th. Ahead of us were Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taipei. So what are those countries doing that we're not?

This segment is part of the WBUR series, "Solving Our Math Problem."

Guest

Ina Mullis, executive director of the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center and professor at Boston College.

This segment aired on April 13, 2017.

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