Japan begins nat'l achievement test with full online English exam for middle school kids

TOKYO -- Japan's national achievement test for sixth-year elementary school and third-year junior high school students began on April 20, with the English test for junior high school students conducted fully online using digital devices.

The National Assessment of Academic Ability is scheduled to be taken by 27,867 schools this year, including all national and public elementary and junior high schools as well as private schools that choose to participate.

The tests in Japanese and arithmetic or mathematics are given every academic year, while the science and junior high school English tests are conducted about once every three years. For English, which measures the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, only the speaking section was held online in the previous 2023 test, but this time the entire exam has shifted to a computer-based testing format.

To reduce the strain on networks, schedules have been staggered. On April 20, 1,936 schools administered the tests for the three skills of listening, reading and writing. At a junior high school in Tokyo, students wearing earphones were seen operating one device each, adjusting the volume, checking how to use the system and waiting for the test to begin. The speaking section will be conducted sequentially from April 24.

In sample English questions released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in October last year, there was a multiple-choice question asking students to listen to a conversation between friends and choose the day of the week when the tennis club practices, as well as a task asking them to think of and type a passage introducing a school event. The Japanese and arithmetic and mathematics tests will be held simultaneously on April 23 in the conventional paper-based format.

The ministry is gradually expanding device-based testing and plans to move all subjects online from fiscal 2027, abolishing paper answer sheets.

(Japanese original by Kanami Ikawa, Tokyo City News Department)