When Good Tests Go Bad

Stephen Horowitz
May 29, 2001

In response to Andrew's article about the standardized testing in the US Education system, once again, I'd like to pipe in with a view from across the Pacific.

I am often asked by Japanese people whether I am planning on living in Japan permenantly. My response to this question is always "no," for one specific reason: the structure of the Japanese education system. I'm sure some of you may have heard about the infamously brutal university entrance examinations. Those examinations are what ruins the system. In order to best prepare for these tests, the Japanese high school education is geared almost exclusively towards the content of these tests, eliminating any freedom by teachers or students to choose their own curriculum. This focus eliminates all assignments that stress creative, original thinking over rote memorization. In addition, parents who are naturally concerned over their children's education often pressure their children to attend the best high schools so as to increase their chances of passing the entrance exam for the best universities. These top-ranked high schools all have entrance examinations. That leads much of middle school learning to be geared towards the high-school entrance exam content. And guess what? That's right, the best middle schools all have entrance exams, which leads elementary school education to be geared towards those exams.

So what is the result of this mess? Students learn almost no creative thinking abilities and have a curriculum that is almost 100% memorization; the term "research paper" does not exist in the Japanese education system. In addition, parents enter their (sometimes elementary school-aged) children into cram schools (called juku in Japanese) which, as their name implies, attempts to cram even more test-related info into their heads. The resulting schedule for students is stressful, repetitive, boring and brutal.

The implementation of mandatory standardized testing for elementary schools has the potential to completely ruin everything that I feel is good about the US education system in exchange for minimal positive results. If those tests are implemented, maybe I will just stay in Japan . . .