27: International Studies of Achievement in Mathematics

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments provided by M. David Miller, University of Florida, and Harold W Stevenson, University of Michigan.

Many journal articles, papers at scholarly conferences, as well as books and monographs have considered the results of international studies in mathematics education over the past several years. The popular media have reflected this interest, as have government agencies which provide significant amounts of funding for international, comparative studies of various kinds.

More attention appears to have been given to international comparisons in mathematics than in other areas of the curriculum. There are several likely reasons for this. First, mathematics plays a prominent part in the curriculum of every country, usually second in importance only to that of the mother tongue. Second, there is a great deal of similarity of content in mathematics curricula internationally. Third, the language of mathematics is, in many ways, truly international. Whether one observes a mathematics class in Beijing or Chicago, one can usually grasp the major elements of the lesson being presented fairly easily because of the universality of mathematical symbolism and notation.