Pupils lag behind international peers

According to research by the education program AP China, students holding foreign passports at international schools in China perform best in most of the 21 AP subjects surveyed, especially in psychology, US history, world history and the two basic calculus courses.

Chinese students also lagged behind their international peers in art history and studio art drawing, which are experimental subjects and new to AP China, said Wang Xiangbo, vice-president of the College Board, who is also in charge of AP China affairs.

But Chinese students do perform well in the calculus courses. They are also strong in sciences, except for biology, Wang said.