Far too many students in the U.S. give up on math early because it does not come easy and they believe only students with innate ability can really be "good" at mathematics, a notion that is all too often reinforced by adults who believe the same thing. There is a serious gap between how Americans value math generally and how they value math for their own enrichment. Most American middle school students (84 percent) would rather clean their rooms, eat their vegetables, take out the garbage and go to the dentist than do their math homework. Yet these same students say they want to do better in math (67 percent) and that doing well in math is important to them (94 percent). In addition, 62 percent of parents say it is crucial for most of today's students to learn high-level math, like advanced algebra and calculus. Only 32 percent of parents, however, say their child's school should teach more math and science. On the other hand, students--and teachers--in other countries have a more positive perception of math. When teachers were asked what factors may influence students' performance in mathematics, 41 percent of American teachers believed that innate intelligence was more important than studying hard, which was just the opposite of Chinese teachers. One study found that fifth graders from the U.S. believe math is all about numbers, memorization and knowing the "rules," while fifth graders from Taiwan believe math is about knowing how to use the rules and develop flexible solutions. (Contains 5 endnotes.)