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The Smartest Kids In The World Analysis

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The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way
In Amanda Ripley’s novel, The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way, Ripley captures students’ personal stories from different and diverse parts of the world, learning much about their backgrounds and experiences. Even when studying the statistically smartest countries, Ripley strictly focuses on the Program on International Student Assessment Test (PISA). PISA a test that is based more on life skills rather than standardized tests that are based on academic skills. Following the students, Ripley explains the experiences of each person going to schools in different countries to discover why the United State’s scores were so low in reading, math, and science.
The first student Ripley followed was Kim. Kim was a student from Sallisaw, Oklahoma, very strong in mathematics and has always sought interest in going to a different country to explore the education system. The next student was Eric; a small town Midwestern boy from Minnesota aspiring to go to Korea and learn about the private school system and the high expectations. The …show more content…
I appreciate Ripley’s choice of students and documenting their experiences through the journey of studying abroad because each person has a different mindset from start to finish. With that being said, the reader gets to explore Finland, Poland and Koreas school systems along with the students. Ripley analyzed and dissected the education systems of the countries the students went to and compared each to the United States, making me realize that education here is not prioritized as highly. This book analyzes key differences in school systems throughout the world such critical thinking development. I am pleased to have gained insight into the differences in worldwide

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