US looks toward Asia to improve math and science

US are considering emulating math and science teaching systems in Asia that produce better results, amid concerns over a drop in performance of US students in the two key subjects.

Average US math scores trail significantly behind nearly all countries in the Asia Pacific region, studies show.

Adding to this finding is a recently released annual US education report which found that US middle and high school students have shown no improvement in science over the past five years.

"There are grave concerns in the United States about the quality of math and science education in American schools," said a new report by experts at The Asia Society, a US-based institution striving to bridge the US-Asia gap.

It outlined ways in which China, and East Asia more broadly, have been successful in producing higher student achievement in math and science and underlined the US "need to benchmark best practices wherever we can find them."

Many the successful Asian education systems were seen to have strong core curricula, rigorous teacher preparation, examinations that motivate students and schools that were intensely academically focused.

"The United States can no more afford to isolate itself educationally than it can economically or in terms of national security," said the report compiled after a forum between education leaders from the US and China, and based on research on Asian achievement in math and science.

The report, which largely focused on China's education system, said the country was bound by national standards in math and science, which drove coherent textbook content, teacher preparation and professional development.

In the US, there is a great deal of variation in the rigor and quality of standards across educational jurisdictions, it said.

In China, far higher proportions of science and math teachers have degrees in their disciplines than their US counterparts.

Specialist teachers are employed to teach students as early as third grade (eight years old), unlike in the US where most primary teachers are "generalists" typically responsible for all subjects.

In China, biology, chemistry, physics, algebra and geometry are mandatory for completion of high school, the report said.

It was also noted that math and science play major roles in entrance exams for Chinese universities.

Other the Chinese school year is a month longer at the secondary level than US schools and overall Chinese students spend twice as many hours studying as their US peers.

The report cited a survey, "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study," which showed the US trailing Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Australia for average maths score in the eighth grade.