Seeing this is such a universal issue really saddens me. In Israel, High School level math is divided into 5 point, 4 point and 3 point courses. 3 points is a

Seeing this is such a universal issue really saddens me. In Israel, High School level math is divided into 5 point, 4 point and 3 point courses. 3 points is a very basic set of mathematical tools, "math for everyone" if you will, which includes basic algebra, basic geometry and trigonometry, basic statistics and what could possibly pass for the first lesson of a calculus course. 4 points is pretty much what this guys sister is studying, conceptually, in that it's a lot of memorization and very little to no understanding. This includes higher level algebra, trigonometry in 3D space, calculus and some other stuff. 5 points is where the problems start - students are required to do 4 point level exercises with "twists" which make them harder and require actual thinking. This sounds great until you understand that most 5 point students have no idea about the underlying mathematical concepts and are just memorizing the answers to thinking part as well. Instead of being elite students who understand the internal workings of mathematics they are distinguished by better memory and more cramming. So yes - horrible math education is everywhere and no one seems to know what to do about it. Three cheers for the human race...