The Federal government has NO business meddling in K-12.
NONE.
Funny thing is that there is nothing magic about the math test or teaching in Japan. Nothing. The book is actually thinner than the text which American kids study. It does do a good job of integrating math, geometry and algebra instead of teaching them as separate topics.
But beyond that, the only major difference is that kids do a lot of math related problems and drills as opposed to learning about self-esteem, racism and how to put a condom on a cucumber.