A.V.R. has a good point. Much of the difference is in the culture of the student, not the quality of the school.

Parenting is another big factor. As a teacher in Ohio, I have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of students. Many of my students come from very supportive families, and they are successful in school. There are those, however, who are hard to motivate because their parents simply don’t value education. This negative message is heard loud and clear by the children. These students often have poor attendance, the parents don’t bother to pick up make-up work that I prepare, and the parents rarely show up to scheduled conferences.

Throughout the years I have had several students from India. All of them were good students who worked extremely hard. Their parents set very high standards for them, and they seemed to be competitive with grades. It was not enough to get straight As…the child had to be the best in the class. (It should be noted that all of the Indian parents were professionals with a high level of education.)

I am not sure, but I doubt it.

The poster above me mentions that the students she knows from Third World countries tend to do very well in classes compared to the other students. I’ve noticed this too, but I think that can probably be best explained by the fact that any student from a Third World country who attends university in a First World country is not going to be representative of all students in their home country. At least in the United States, most schools are stingy about financial aid for international students, so the student would either have to have enough money to be able to pay for their college education (in which case their families were probably rich enough to afford a better-than-usual pre-college education) or be smart enough to be offered a full academic scholarship.

I don’t think they’re getting a better education than in America, it just seems like we’re more focused on those third world countries. Because we are focusing on them more, it might seem like they’re getting a better education although that’s not the case. Like someone else mentioned, they don’t have the option of university or a higher level of learning. They’re quite limited to what they have. You have to admit though, that kids in third world countries are more excited about getting an education than kids here. Children in America are too spoiled to be grateful for what they have.

There may be a different reason for the perception.

In India at least, it is considered the duty of a parent to take care of the education (up to all levels including PhD) of all children. Parents will spend their entire life’s savings to pay for expenses if needed. In turn, it is the child’s duty to do well in studies .

My friends from China, Colombia, and Argentina had much better educations than I did. I think those are all considered third world (they’ve all defaulted on their World Bank loans). They left me far behind in graduate school.