Which cultural factors shape average test scores among Jewish and Chinese groups?

[jennifer_bloom]

My question is in reference to Jewish intelligence and Chinese intelligence in settings where the dominant population is neither Jewish nor Chinese.

I believe that the cultural teachings of their social group, encourage a deeper level of cognitive consciousness, and repeating degrees of high intensity consciousness leads to higher intelligence, as well I believe the Jewish religion is a thoroughly intellectual and mentally clarifying tradition, and a clear mind can operate with information better.

[Anonymous]

I think culture can play a real role in average test performance, but I’d be careful about turning that into a claim that Jewish or Chinese people are naturally more intelligent.

For Chinese families, things like strong emphasis on education, parental expectations, studying, academic competition, and respect for teachers can push children toward doing well on standardized tests. But immigration selection matters too. Chinese immigrants in countries like the U. S. aren't necessarily a random sample of the population in China, and researchers have found that highly educated immigration can help explain some of the academic patterns seen among Asian Americans.

For Jewish populations, especially historically in Western countries, education, literacy, verbal learning, professional occupations, and cultural emphasis on intellectual discussion have all been suggested as possible influences. There is research supporting cultural explanations, although there is still disagreement about how much different factors contribute.

And the setting you mentioned actually matters a lot. A Jewish or Chinese minority living in a country where they're not the majority may have a different educational environment, immigration history, socioeconomic background, and degree of cultural assimilation than people from the same ethnic group elsewhere. A large meta-analysis of immigrant students found that acculturation and generation can be associated with academic performance, although the effects vary considerably by population and outcome.

So personally, I'd think of average test-score differences as the result of many overlapping factors: family expectations, education, socioeconomic conditions, immigration selection, language, culture, and the testing environment, rather than simply saying one ethnic group is smarter than another. The National Academies also cautions against using ethnic or racial categories as simple proxies for genetics or environment.