english and critical reading at hong kong s kelly yang project. there s the myth that every chinese kid is good at math, but aside from that, i think it s just that they have the access to the school, to the extracurricular activities which are going to be helping them with these different subjects. and there s also a lot of priority at home for them to do well. their parents won t take b for an answer. reporter: students in hong kong spend less time in school than students in the u.s. and yet they often outperform their american peers in reading, math and science exams. why? it may all come down to tradition. i m at hong kong s temple, and this is the confucion hall. researchers say it s the chinese tradition of emphasizing education that is the top factor behind hong kong s top scores. this student has been studying the education system here for more than 20 years.