The system was devised in Japan by Hiroshi Kumon's father, Toru, who was concerned after his son Takeshi scored badly in a math exam.

BBC: Maths classes 'overcrowded'

African American students in grades four and eight increased their marks on reading exams by 23 points, and eighth-graders posted a 40-point gain on the math exam, she said.

CNN: By Karen Spiller/The Telegraph of Nashua

And of course the students themselves still have to take the 5th-grade math exam at the end of the year with all of their peers even if they have progressed well beyond these concepts, which makes the routine a silly and even insulting exercise governed by the elements of our system anchored in time.

FORBES: Ignoring Bad Incentives

Ten cities have volunteered for the comparative study in math since the exam was first given in 2003.

WSJ: City Schools Gain in Reading, Math

And though I genuinely enjoyed my senior year, I still had to pass my final exam in math to graduate which I apparently did albeit with the lowest passing grade.

FORBES: Is a Harvard Degree Worth It?

The Seattle district requires teachers to give the math and reading Measures of Academic Progress exam, or MAP, to students in first through ninth grade two or three times a year.

WSJ: Seattle Teachers Protest Exams

Enrolled Penn students who complete the online option can take a departmental exam to prove their knowledge and pass into higher-level math classes, just as they can after finishing an AP class.

WSJ: Big MOOC Coursera Moves Closer to Academic Acceptance

Minority and low-income students are less likely to take a core curriculum defined as four years of English and three or more of math and the sciences that would help them prepare to do well on the exam.

WSJ: SAT Scores Fall as More Students Take Exam