Math—time capital matters: A cross-country analysis

Abstract

We compute and compare the rate of accumulation of one component of educational capital — “math-time capital” — through eighth grade in a sample of countries that includes Japan and the US, and measure the impact on math achievement of raising the rate of accumulation of US math-time capital. We examine the 1982 IEA math exam administered to 13-year olds on which the US mean score was substantially below Japan. We find that Japan is the highest math-time country — the Japanese 8th grader has accumulated 30% more math time than the American 8th grader — and that math-time capital matters for math achievement. We estimate that if the US lengthened its school year by three weeks and assigned required summer math homework, it would close 26% of the gap between the US and Japanese mean scores, and move the US from 13th to 8th in score rank.