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Education officials are puzzled and alarmed by an academic survey released on July 31 that shows younger students' academic test scores dropped precipitously between fiscal 2024 and the last survey taken in fiscal 2021. 

“Scores have never dropped this significantly before,” said a senior education ministry official.

The education ministry stated that it cannot clearly specify the factors behind the decline although one possibility is the COVID-19 pandemic impacted English scores for junior high students.

In a separate survey of parents, they reported that their children's smartphone and game playing time increased, and many have placed less emphasis on them achieving top grades. 

The survey conducted by the government in fiscal 2024 sought to understand and analyze changes in the academic abilities of children nationwide and to contribute to the evaluation and improvement of future educational policies.

According to the analysis, scores declined in all subjects compared to the previous survey conducted in fiscal 2021.

In the most recent survey, the results from approximately 30,000 sixth-grade elementary students and about 70,000 third-grade junior high students, randomly sampled nationwide, were analyzed.

The subjects tested were Japanese and arithmetic for sixth-grade elementary students, and Japanese, mathematics and English for third-grade junior high students.

Until now, the analysis results had been reported mainly to expert committees. However, this time, the education ministry released the findings publicly, emphasizing the need for broader discussion of the issues identified.

The results were presented using a score standardized on a base of 500.

The average scores of participants were as follows:

Sixth-grade elementary students: Japanese 489.9 (a decrease of 15.9 points from the previous survey), arithmetic 486.3 (a decrease of 20.9 points)

Third-grade junior high students: Japanese 499.0 (a decrease of 12.7 points from the previous survey), mathematics 503.0 (a decrease of 8.0 points), English 478.2 (a decrease of 22.9 points)

In the previous survey, there were no subjects in which the scores had decreased.

The ministry pointed to the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected junior high school students' English scores. For third-year junior high students, the period when they began learning a foreign language in elementary school overlapped with the pandemic.

The ministry believes that the inability to actively engage in “speaking” may have had an effect.

However, the ministry has expressed a cautious stance on the significant decline, stating that “continuous analysis is necessary.”

Hiroaki Mimizuka, an emeritus professor of educational sociology at Ochanomizu University who has long been involved in the ministry's expert panel on academic ability, said he was surprised by the results.

“The causes are complex and a thorough investigation of each factor is necessary,” he said.

A survey of parents was also conducted simultaneously.

According to the results, the amount of time children spent playing games and using smartphones increased compared to the previous survey, while the time spent studying outside of school decreased.

Additionally, there was an increase in the number of parents who were less focused on their children achieving high academic grades.

The government's academic survey is conducted, in principle, once every three years. This is different from the national academic achievement survey, which is conducted annually for all sixth-grade elementary and third-grade junior high school students.

Each time, nearly the same set of questions, which are not publicly disclosed, is administered, allowing for comparison of the three survey rounds conducted since fiscal 2016.

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