The Necessity of National Scholastic Tests

Matsuda, Natsuki, OCJC

In Japan nowadays, various topics on education are being debated in the government quite regularly. Adding English education to the elementary curriculum is one topic that may still be fresh in our minds. There are so many competing arguments about education. One topic that I would like to introduce is the National Scholastic Test. This test takes place every year in every school throughout Japan. It is meant to measure students’ ability in their core academic skills, to measure schools’ environment, and the kinds of skills teacher bring to classroom teaching. In Japanese we call this test, 全国学力テスト.

The national government and the schools are now debating whether the National Scholastic Test should take place or not. The government points out that the National Scholastic Test helps students and schools to raise their academic skills by competing against other schools. Schools argue, however, that the results from the National Scholastic Test do not necessarily show the real academic level of schools. Because of this, schools argue that the test is unnecessary and should come to an end. I believe that National Scholastic Test is necessary in understanding academic levels in Japan.

By taking this test, students will be more motivated to receive a clear result of their growing knowledge each year. From this result, students can also create a new goal in their school life. At last, the test will also benefit teachers and the school itself by seeing what kind of work and environment the school had provided or isn’t providing.

To support this evidence, I also have a personal story. During my student life, I had to take a test called SAT, short for Stanford Achievement Test, which had the same purpose as the National Scholastic Test. Throughout elementary to middle school, my average grade was 60~70%. I was an average student or even below average some years. However, during my freshmen year in high school, my teacher called me in during lunchtime. In her hand, she held my SAT score and said, “Take a look at this.” To be honest, I thought I was in big trouble for something I didn’t remember. However, my teacher was smiling and said, “Do you understand it’s very rare to have students jump up 20%?” My SAT score showed that my average rose from 70% to 92%.

From this experience, I became even more motivated to study. This clear result that I was given each year showed me how much effort I had put into learning, or even how much I had slacked off. Teachers enjoyed the same effect too. When I had a great teacher for a subject that I wasn’t strong in, my SAT scores rose; however, even in my strong subjects, there were times when my scores dropped when I disliked a particular teacher. Overall, the SAT became my goal to show how much studying I did in a year.

From these experiences and results, one could argue that the National Scholastic Test will produce the same sort of results for students. The test is necessary because it motivates students who want to see clear results. It will create a new goal, and will show each school’s academic levels. Just like it has changed my perspective on studying, other students can change theirs also. By keeping the test, Japan can see a positive change in public education.