As in the majority of countries, there is a positive relationship between teacher-student relations and student performance in both the United States and Japan. For example, the quarter of students in the United States who reported the poorest relationships with their teachers are 1.6 times more likely to be also among the quarter of the poorest performing students (for japan the odds are 2.0).'2 Differences in student-reported teacher interest in their well-being may reflect either different student expectations of the level of involvement of their teachers, or different roles that teachers assume with respect to their students. A low percentage of agreement with these statements suggests a possible mismatch between student expectations and what teachers are actually doing.