This report uses data from examinations given in Japan and the United States to assess the essential components of the taught curriculum in each country. Students in each country were assessed using examinations designed specifically for students in that country. This report compares the nature of these examinations, the expectations based on the curriculum, and student perfomances on the included items. This comparison, combined with an accompanying analysis of the curricular intents for American eighth-graders and their Japanese counterparts in grade two of lower secondary school, provides a rich picture of the differences in student performance and curricular emphases and expectations that mark this study.
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