Asian Stereotypes

Are people from one ethnic background more likely to achieve success? It is a universally recognized stereotype that students of Asian ethnicity are more successful in school. The PISA is an international standardized test, measuring students ' abilities in reading, math, and science. According to the National Center for Education Statistics ' website, in 2012, the average PISA mathematics test score of Chinese students was a 613 out of the average 494. Meanwhile, the average math score for an American student was 481 out of the average 494. In all testing categorizes, Chinese students received the highest test scores ("Mathematics Literacy: Average Scores"). Although it may not specifically hold true for every Asian student, studies

Another element allowing most Asian children to reach high amounts of success are the values within their culture. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, China, which has the highest rice production in the world, produces 198,471 tonnes of rice per year (Papademetriou,"Rice Production in the Asia-Pacific Region"). Long ago, farmers started to make mechanical advancements to improve their efficiency. However, in Asia, most farmers did not have enough money to purchase new technology. Thus, as Malcolm Gladwell states, "rice farmers improved their yields by becoming smarter, by being better managers of their own time, and by making better choices" (Gladwell, 233). Because working in a rice field is ten to twenty times more labor intensive than working on a corn field, Rice farmers had to work harder than almost any type of farmer. However, their hard work led to a high yield of rice. Therefore, rice farmers were able to learn an important lesson: hard work pays off in the form of success. This lesson was passed on throughout Asian culture and has become an important virtue even in today 's society. Asian culture typically places an importance on hard work, causing most Asians to work hard in order to receive successful