Interpreting Math test scores

For the longest time, people have pondered on the huge gap between Math scores of Asian children and their Western counterparts, especially those in America. What is it that makes the average Asian child so much better at Math? It is Genes? Geography? Climate? Diet? Culture?

Now Malcolm Gladwell has presented a revolutionary idea in his new book, "Outliers". His theory is that the answer lies in the difference between the numbering systems.

The Asian system of numbering is simple, transparent and intuitive, while the Western numbering system is irregular and confusing. For example, for numbers above twenty, we put the decade first and the unit number second (twenty-one, twenty-two), whereas for teens, we say the unit number first and then the tens (sixteen, seventeen). Even with that there is a huge inconsistency. We say fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, but not one-teen, two-teen, three-teen or five-teen- it is eleven, twelve, thirteen and fifteen. We say forty and sixty, where the words sound exactly like four and six, but then we do not say five-ty and two-ty- it is fifty and twenty. A child takes time to grasp all these inconsistencies, which begins their struggle with fundamental Math skills.

In China, Japan and Korea, the counting system is far more logical. 11 is ten-one, 12 is ten-two, 21 is two-tens-one and so on. Consistent, simple, easy to understand and easy to remember.

Mr. Gladwell theorizes that he regularity of the number system enables Asian children to do basic math functions much quicker in their heads. When an English speaking child is asked to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two, she converts the words to numbers in her head: 37+22, and then adds, to get 59. For an Asian child however, it is adding three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and the necessary equation is right there, embedded in the sentence. No number translation is necessary- the answer if five-tens-nine, or 59.

Interesting theory. However I was surprised that Mr. Gladwell has limited his study of Asian students to China, Japan and Korea. What about India? It is no secret that the Indian kids routinely outperform their Western counterparts everywhere in the world in Math. Yet Indian children use the English counting system. I wonder how Mr. Gladwell would explain that discrepancy.