The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley

1. Group Reading Presentation:
The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way
by Amanda Ripley
DANIEL ESTAPE
KRISTINA HERNANDEZ
TAWONA JENKINS
JESSICA MANGES

2. The Author: Amanda Ripley
 Well known investigative journalist for magazines
like Time, The Atlantic
 Her book, The Smartest Kids in the World and How
They Got That Way, is a New York Times bestseller
 She is known for researching cases that require her
to find the gap between public policy and human
behavior

3. Part I
 Part I explores the mystery of why some children in certain
parts of the world perform well above what is considered
“average” as opposed to others on international
educational student assessments like the PISA.
 The Program for International Student Assessment, also
known as PISA, was developed by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development.
 PISA was first administered in 2000 and had more than
forty countries participating.
The top scorer on
the test in 2000
was Finland!

4. Part I
 PISA indicated which countries taught their students to
think for themselves as the assessment itself seemed to
test more on “life skills than school skills” (p. 21).
 The PISA results also predicted the future success of
each country.
 PISA “demanded fluency in problem solving and the
ability to communicate” (p. 23), therefore it showed
that each country thrived on the student’s critical
thinking skills.
Have you
ever seen
a PISA test
question?

5. Intermission Brought to you by PISA
In January, the new CDs of the bands 4U2Rock
and The Kicking Kangaroos were released. In
February, the CDs of the bands No One's Darling
and The Metalfolkies followed. The following
graph shows the sales of the bands' CDs from
January to June. In which month did the band No
One's Darling sell more CDs than the band The
Kicking Kangaroos for the first time?
A. No Month
B. March
C. April
D. May

6. Part II
 Ripley provides the reader with a comparison of makes Finland, South Korea and Poland
“superpowers” in education compared to the US via the perspective of three high school
field agents.
 What made these countries unique?
• Higher expectations for everyone involved, students and teachers alike
• Highly qualified and rigorous teacher selection process
• Less focus on the extracurricular and more on academics
• Real parent involvement

7. Part II
 Drive! Matters more than just “talent”
 Parent involvement has a huge impact on student performance.
 The desired parenting style to produce children that perform better in school is the
coaching style or authoritative style in which the parent is warm, responsive, and
close to their kids, however as their kids get older they give them the freedom to fail
and make their own life choices.
 An example of this is shown in Chinese-American parents and how they are more
hands-on with younger children and as they get older they provide them with more
autonomy (p.113).

9. Part II
 Change needs to happen for education to get better.
 Reform took place in all the countries, but most in Poland.
 In 1997 Poland’s Minister of Education, Miroslaw Handke, had Poland go through a transition
phase to achieve a new level of equilibrium in education (p.131).
 Handke had a four step plan:
 Rigor first – New Curriculum
 Accountability second – Standardized Tests
 Raised expectations third – Extended schooling years instead of a vocational option
 Autonomy fourth – Teachers could select their own instructional materials from a list of approved options

10. Part III
 Finland, Poland and Korea all had something in common.
 They believed that education is in fact a serious matter.
 Despite diversity or economics they strived to make sure their children got
a good education.
 Let’s Compare:
Data
Finland South Korea USA
3 percent of children
have immigrant
parents
2 percent of children
have immigrant
parents
20 percent of children
have immigrant
parents
Everyone held to high
expectations
Extremely high
expectations for all
Standards depending
on race and
economics.
Matriculation test at
the end of high school
Matriculation test
determines future
Frequent test
throughout the year

11. What does America need?
 An agreement to impart rigor in academics and in teacher selection.
 Higher expectations and follow through on these goals.
 Acceptance of a much needed reform.
 Understanding what students need to know in the real-world.
 A serious education system that students acknowledge as the real deal.

12. Reference
 Ripley, A. (2013). The smartest kids in the world: And how they got that
way (pp. vii-306). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.