Why Do Asian American Students Do Better on Mathematics Tests?

The purpose of this study is to explain the gap between Asian American and white students in mathematics test scores by combining both cultural and socioeconomic approaches presented in previous studies. The sample consisted of a nationally representative sample of 1465 Asian American and 8757 white American students obtained from National Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) results indicate that parental involvement and students' individual motivation explain why Asian American students perform better than white American students. Meanwhile, better socioeconomic backgrounds and higher rates of two-biological-parent households also contribute to Asian student's better performance on mathematics test scores. However, Asian students who live with both biological parents make lower mathematics test scores than white American students who live with both biological parents. This result implies that Asian American students might have higher pressure from their parents on their education. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]