I have to assume the Shanghai results are somehow the results of corruption because the PRC exam system is more corrupt than....
At this point I realised that you can't honestly say that PRC exams are are as corrupt as...
One is forced to disrespect an exam system by saying "it is almost as corrupt as the PRC". I trust Nigerian results more than those from the PRC.
Singapore and HK can partly be attributed to the fact that the Chinese quarter of the human race has been subject to brutal distillation, and that the average has been improved by the elimination of the weakest. But they also have excellent education systems, and like all the highly successful ones, faith is either wholly removed, or the local faith has been bought off by allowing it a quota of children it can use as sex toys without excessive attention by the police.
Ethnic Chinese do well pretty much everywhere because of this, in the US they even partly compensate for a pathologically dysfunctional high school system.
Obviously being both American and a born again Christian, Pat Robertson can't cope with an evolutionary argument, and being a white American Christian it's frankly impressive that he can write whole sentences, I guess that level of intellectual leadership is why he is so widely followed.
There are also cultural factors, which have evolved along with the genetics. One observes parental support for education is so high that you could make an argument that it is oppressive, certainly some of the kids think so. Education has served and protected Chinese people from many of the bad things that have come their way, typically from other Chinese, but from others as well, so that's pretty rational.
PB says:
We do not know how to close the gap in reading, science and math between Anglo and Asian students and black and Hispanic students.
This is spectacularly false, indeed there is no major problem in America that is easier to solve, and one to which almost everyone knows how to solve.
1. This is America, put up cash rewards for getting kids to read. More kids reading = more money.
Trust me it will be fixed very very quickly.
2. Extend the legislation that stops troops joining unions to schools. Abolish them. Personally I'd imprison the leaders, but at the very least they need to be stopped. US teaching unions are vastly more dangerous than any military power to the US.
3. No one to be allowed to attend any form of school sport until and unless they have attained the average for their year group.
4. Abolish university sports teams.
5. Remove any law that in any way gives anyone of any kind any veto of what kids are 'allowed' to read. My kids have access to gas warfare manuals, Mein Kampf, the Koran, postgrad math textbooks, and Asimov's Lecherous Limericks, arguably the rudest book ever written. Your kids aren't even allowed to read books with 'damn' in them. mine will win, yours will lose.
6. Commission the geniuses at Marvel, DC comics et al to write text books. Comics are chosen by kids, books are chosen by adults, you want more reading ? supply the stuff they want to read.