The latest report from the National Assessment of Academic Ability underscores afresh the importance of policy efforts to allow children to learn in a more active and in-depth manner to fully develop their potential.

The findings of the assessment put the onus on society to take steps to ensure a positive learning environment for children.

The education ministry has announced the results of nationwide tests to measure student achievement involving some 2 million sixth graders at elementary schools and third-year junior high school students.

The tests were conducted amid a major reform of teaching methods and approaches at Japanese schools.

New school curriculum guidelines aimed at helping students to acquire the ability to think on their own through inquiry-based learning were introduced on a full-scale basis at elementary schools in 2020 and junior high schools in 2021.

Students have also started using information terminals as one device has been distributed to each.

Scores indicate that the new teaching approach has already started producing encouraging results at some schools but is failing to make a difference at many others. The education ministry should offer solid policy support for efforts by schools and local governments to improve student achievement based on the test outcomes.

The assessment was given in April and covered three subject areas--Japanese, mathematics and science. Science tests for the assessment were given for the first time in four years.

Some questions in the science test for junior high school students were designed to measure the effectiveness of the new inquiry-based teaching and identify issues that need to be addressed.

The average ratios of the correct answers to these questions were lower than 50 percent. The results also show relatively low scores for mathematics questions for junior high school students aimed at measuring the ability to read key trends in data and figure out their implications, signaling some high hurdles to success.

The results of a survey about students’ attitudes and perceptions toward learning conducted simultaneously offer some intriguing insights. Students who said they made plans for observations and experiments based on their expectations in science classes tended to score relatively higher in all subjects.

The same was true for children who said that classes they had attended had used teaching methods, materials and time frames that suited their abilities and needs.

The main challenge is to develop a teaching approach that encourages students’ initiative in learning and best suits their levels of understanding.

Policymakers need to make an in-depth analysis of the outcomes, including data concerning regional differences and the relationship between scores and family circumstances, to develop better plans for hiring and distributing teachers and supporting staff members, and for funding necessary policy measures.

In the survey, students were also asked questions about the use of information and communication technology (ICT) devices at their schools. The findings concerning sixth graders indicate that more frequent use of such devices leads to higher scores.

An official in charge at the education ministry says the findings show effective use of ICT devices could boost student achievement.

“We will delve further into the results for confirmation,” says the official.

Some local governments and schools have been engaged in a futile competition driven by an excessive focus on raising their students’ scores and rankings among schools and municipalities with regard to the assessment.

But the principal priority should be placed on helping children acquire the academic capabilities needed to adapt to rapid and radical social changes and on formulating a policy program to achieve the goal.

The education ministry has provided prefectural governments and other organizations concerned with numerical data about students’ levels of interest in each subject area and improvement in teaching at individual schools.

The assessment will only be worth the 4 billion yen ($29.7 million) cost and huge time and energy involved if such valuable data is used effectively to identify the related policy challenges and map out plans to tackle them.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 29