Taken from Mathematicians set Chinese test
Mathematical Education Levels Differ Worldwide
Here's a sample test question for first-year science students in an English University in the UK:
And now a sample test question for pre-entry science students in China:
Both questions are catered towards students
around age 18. See the
difference?
Yeah, that does happen here in India too. I guess it’s a general economic trend that greater population = greater number of students having above average intelligence = more competition due to fewer resources = more difficult questions.
Sadly, the difficult questions are largely theoretical and quite abstract, really putting down some of that interest you would usually accumulate towards a subject, crushing any creative space you get as you try and prepare for them. A prime example of this is the IIT-JEE where 400,000 students try to get into 6000 vacancies, leading to the questions becoming tougher each year. Ironically, it’s more difficult to get into an IIT than into Harvard. That’s not to say, however, that the simple question asked above is not objectionable – University material should be over the top, in it’s very nature.
While there are some clear differences in levels, don’t let this discourage you from going to study abroad.
Many schools provide advanced-level classes that specifically fit those who are mathematically inclined, and concentrate on the abstract, theoretical math like the kind you can find at the centre of Asian curriculums. As well, many schools put emphasis on the useful applications of mathematics, which as suggested by EarthBorn helps encourage students to enjoy math.
The level of difficulty may be different, but that’s not to say that those educated in China and India are necessarily smarter or are able to secure better jobs than European and American students.
What do you think?
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JohnPhilipGreen said – Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:36:13 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
Speaking of IIT, did you see the new LearnHub community, IIT Dreams?