China’s Great Tech Leap Forward and the Implications for the United States

Why It Matters

Understanding the mindset link to math performance offers educators and policymakers a low‑cost lever to improve U.S. student outcomes and maintain global competitiveness.

Key Takeaways

• Only 25% of U.S. eighth-graders proficient in math.
• Asian immigrants achieve 36% math proficiency, surpassing Asian Americans.
• Growth mindset associates with higher academic performance among immigrants.
• Fixed mindset links to lower achievement in Asian American students.
• Fostering growth mindset can improve resilience and learning outcomes.

Summary

The video examines America’s math achievement gap, highlighting that just a quarter of eighth‑grade students meet proficiency standards. It underscores stark disparities across demographic groups, noting that Asian immigrants outperform both their Asian‑American peers and the national average.

Data reveal Asian immigrants score a 36% proficiency rate in math, compared with only 20% for Asian Americans and 25% overall. Researchers attribute this gap to differing mindsets: immigrants tend to embrace a growth mindset, believing intelligence can be developed through effort, while many Asian‑American students exhibit a fixed mindset, viewing ability as static.

The presenter defines a growth mindset as the belief that effort enhances intelligence, fostering resilience and a willingness to tackle challenges. Conversely, a fixed mindset leads to avoidance of difficulty and lower achievement. The contrast between the two groups serves as a concrete example of how mindset influences educational outcomes.

The implication is clear: cultivating a growth mindset in classrooms and at home could raise math proficiency, narrow achievement gaps, and better prepare U.S. students for a competitive global economy.

Original Description

You are cordially invited to join this online CSIS event for the release of the report, The Power of Innovation: The Strategic Value of China’s High-Tech Drive by Trustee Chair Scott Kennedy.

This report argues that China’s advancement across high-tech sectors has directly strengthened the country’s international power and influence, and that other governments need to respond pragmatically to reduce the downside costs and raise the upside opportunities to make the most of these developments. Based on several years of fieldwork and analysis of quantitative data and primary documents, the report evaluates China’s high-tech drive in general and with respect to specific industries. It then analyzes the effect of these developments on China’s military capabilities and its role in shaping international technical standards.

Following an initial presentation of the report’s key findings by Scott Kennedy, event host Ilaria Mazzocco will then invite several experts to offer their feedback, including: Kyle Chan (Brookings Institution), Lizzi Lee (Asia Society Center for China Analysis), Paul Triolo (Albright Stonebridge Group), and Jeannette Chu (National Foreign Trade Council). The event will conclude with a discussion of the policy implications for the United States.

This project and event are supported by generous funding from the Smith Richardson Foundation.

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