Совершенствование массового математического образования как необходимое условие конкурентоспособности России

By analyzing the results of mathematical competitions the author comes to the conclusion that Russian students are significantly behind their peers in the ability to apply their knowledge in practice. The changes to the methodology of teaching mathematics are proposed that improve the readiness of school leavers to the formulation, solution and interpretation of mathematical problems in a variety of problem areas including humanities.