Wall Street's Next Generation: Latvians?

What kinds of innovative industries will America's next generation create that will help propel the country back to economic dominance? Don't expect them to come from the sciences.

Reconfirming what we've always known, kids in America continue to lag far behind other countries in math and science skills, according to the latest study. The results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted by Boston College show that American kids made improvements in math skills since the last test four years ago, but they made almost no progress in science. And despite its advancement in math, the U.S. is still far behind other countries when it comes to educating its children on the basics.

The scores came from fourth graders in 37 countries and eighth graders in 50 countries. Asia's dominance in math and science skills became even more pronounced with the latest results. About half of the eighth graders in Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea scored at the advanced level in math. Only 6 percent of their peers in America achieved that level.

Fourth graders in the U.S. fell behind eight countries, including Kazakhstan and Latvia.

In a year that's seen the near collapse of the U.S. financial system and the bursting of a housing bubble that has sent ripples through the entire global economy, is it any wonder that we stink at math?

One can only hope that the next generation of U.S. entrepreneurs, finance whizzes, and risk-taking number crunchers will seek the counsel of their counterparts in Kazakhstan before launching the Next Big Thing on Wall Street.

by Megan Barnett