We keep hearing this again and again. There are also surveys testifying to this. But I have never seen how those surveys are actually sampled. I grew up in poor areas. I know people in my area, on average, don't have good math skills.
We also see a lot of moving stories about students in poor areas in China can not go to real schools. It's hard to believe that they will grow up with great math skills.
Are these people counted during those surveys of math (or other) skills in China?
As a whole, I just can't believe that American's math skills are inferior to that of Chinese.