Ripley - The smartest kids in the world: and how they got that way

PRAISE FOR

The Smartest Kids in the World

[Ripley] gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange.... [A] masterly book.

The New York Times Book Review

Compelling.... What is Poland doing right? And what is America doing wrong? Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World , her fine new book about the schools that are working around the globe.... Ms. Ripley packs a startling amount of insight in this slim book.

The Economist

Intriguing.... Ripley is a talented writer.... [ The Smartest Kids in the World ] has the most illuminating reporting I have ever seen on the differences between schools in America and abroad.

Jay Mathews, education columnist, The Washington Post

[ The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book.... Ripleys policy recommendations are sensible and strong.... The American school reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center of education where they belong.

The Daily Beast

The Smartest Kids in the World should be on the back-to-school reading list of every parent, educator and policymaker interested in understanding why students in other countries outperform U.S. students on international tests.

U.S. News & World Report

Gripping.... Ripleys characters are fascinating, her writing style is accessible, and her observations are fresh.... If youre interested in how to improve public schools, read Ripleys book today.

The Huffington Post

Ripleys reporting leads her, and us, to valuable insights into todays standards debate.... Ripley helps us see clearly that shifting philosophical gearsmaking drive rather than talent the cornerstone of our educational systemis a key to achieving our academic aspirations.

Washington Monthly

Ripleys reporting is top-notch, fluidly presented, and well-documented, and her coverage of the teenagers personal journeys and experiences, both social and academic, make this a must-read for anyone interested in getting American schools back on track.

School Library Journal

In riveting prose... this timely and inspiring book offers many insights into how to improve Americas mediocre school system.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

Fascinating.... Ripleys voice is engaging, and Smartest Kids is impeccably researched and packed with interesting interviews and anecdotes.... The book ends on a positive note.... [While] the issues are complex, we certainly get the message that we can improve our educational system for our kids.

Washington Independent Review of Books

Ripleys evaluation of education in a changing world is revealing and thought-provoking.

Rocky Mountain Telegram

Engaging... well-researched.

Scholastic Administrator

A compelling, instructive account regarding education in America.

Kirkus Reviews

Ripleys stirring investigation debunks many tenets of current education reform.

BookPage

In lively, accessible prose... Ripleys book looks at the data from a new perspective. Those stunned parents and teachers in New York State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they are inclined to blame their childrens/students poor results on a new test.

OECD Education Today Blog

If you care about education, you must read this book. By recounting what three intrepid kids learned from the rest of the world, it shows what we can learn about how to fix our schools. Ripleys delightful storytelling has produced insights that are both useful and inspiring.

Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin

This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of equity and rigorif we heed the lessons from top performing countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing them.

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

This is a no-nonsense, no-excuses book about how we can improve outcomes for all kids, from the poorest to the wealthiest. It avoids platitudes and ideology and relies instead on the experiences of students.

Joel Klein, CEO, Amplify, and former chancellor, New York City Department of Education

Amanda Ripley observes with rare objectivity and depth. She finds a real and complex world over thereschools with flaws of their own but also real and tangible lessons about how to do better by our kids. The Smartest Kids in the World gave me more insights, as a parent and as an educator, than just about anything else Ive read in a while.

Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion

Such an important book! Amanda Ripley lights the path to engaging our next generation to meet a different bar. She makes an enormous contribution to the national and global discussion about what must be done to give all our children the education they need to invent the future.

Wendy Kopp, founder and chair, Teach For America, and CEO, Teach For All

The Smartest Kids in the World is a must-read for anyone concerned about the state of American public education. By drawing on experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our nations schools.

Michelle Rhee, founder and CEO, StudentsFirst

also by amanda ripley

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikesand Why

Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

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Copyright 2013 by Amanda Ripley

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Paperbacks Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition July 2014

SIMON & SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Designed by Nancy Singer

Illustrations by John Del Gaizo

Cover design and illustration by Tom McKeveny

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Simon & Schuster hardcover edition as follows:

Ripley, Amanda.

The smartest kids in the world : and how they got that way / Amanda Ripley.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Comparative education. 2. EducationFinland. 3. EducationKorea (South) 4. EducationPoland.

I. Title.

LB43.R625 2013

370.9dc23

2013002021

ISBN 978-1-4516-5442-4

ISBN 978-1-4516-5443-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4516-5444-8 (ebook)

PHOTO CREDITS

: Hanushek and Woessmann, The Knowledge Capital of Nations

: OECD/Michael Dean

: Courtesy of Kims family

: Amanda Ripley

: Adam Lach/Napo Images

: Jean Chung

for louise s. ripley

germany

Thomas Neville Postlethwaite. British scientist. Pioneered the study of what children know around the world. Mentor to Andreas Schleicher.

Andreas Schleicher. German scientist at the OECD who helped create the PISA test, designed to measure twenty-first century skills in fifteen-year-olds around the world.

united states

Scott Bethel. Football coach and teacher of Kims Algebra I class in Sallisaw, Oklahoma.

Mark Blanchard. Principal of Toms high school in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.