It’s the curriculum, stupid
A thought-experiment:
Ms. Wong is a fourth-grade teacher in Shanghai, and Ms. Stilton is a fourth-grade teacher in Ames, Iowa. Each has a class of 25 students, who on average score at the same level on international assessments of mathematics and proficiency in their native language. In both classrooms, the prescribed curriculum involves study of the history of the local community.
At the end of the school year, both Ms. Wong’s students and Ms. Stilton’s students are administered a standardized test of their knowledge of Shanghai history, touching on the Qing Dynasty, the Opium Wars, World War II and the Japanese occupation, and the transition to Communism.
Ms. Wong’s students show a commendable grasp of the key historical events in Shanghai over the past two
Ms. Wong is a fourth-grade teacher in Shanghai, and Ms. Stilton is a fourth-grade teacher in Ames, Iowa. Each has a class of 25 students, who on average score at the same level on international assessments of mathematics and proficiency in their native language. In both classrooms, the prescribed curriculum involves study of the history of the local community.
At the end of the school year, both Ms. Wong’s students and Ms. Stilton’s students are administered a standardized test of their knowledge of Shanghai history, touching on the Qing Dynasty, the Opium Wars, World War II and the Japanese occupation, and the transition to Communism.
Ms. Wong’s students show a commendable grasp of the key historical events in Shanghai over the past two