Chance favors the prepared mind

National Level
• At the national level, several Asian countries generally outperform the United States in
both mathematics and science, while many African and Middle Eastern Countries
performed significantly below the United States. The United States was generally
comparable to other English-speaking nations and European countries. The highest
performing countries were also the same ones that grant the largest proportion of college
degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (see figure 46).
• In mathematics, the means of five countries reached the Proficient level of achievement.
These were Singapore, Hong Kong (SAR), Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, and
Japan. Twenty-two countries were at the Basic level (including the United States), and 19
counties were Below Basic (see table 1).
• In science, only two countries had means that reached the proficient level of achievement.
These were Singapore and Chinese Taipei. Twenty countries were at the Basic level
(including the United States), and 24 countries were Below Basic (see table 3).
State Level
• At the state level, this report showed that although there is considerable variation in state
performance, states are not as variable as nations. Even the highest achieving states
within the United States were still significantly below the highest achieving countries,
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http://www.air.org/publications/documents/phillips.chance.favors.the.prepared.mind.pdf