Reference News Network, August 3 report. According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun on August 1, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced the results of the "Long-term Change Analysis Survey" on children's academic performance for the 2024 fiscal year on July 31. The data shows that all subject scores of Japanese children have declined compared to the previous survey results in 2021. Although MEXT has taken a cautious stance, stating "it is necessary to continue analyzing," due to the significant drop in scores, more and more experts in the academic field and government officials believe this is a "very serious result."
The "Long-term Change Analysis Survey" is generally conducted every three years, while the National Academic Achievement Survey is carried out annually, targeting all sixth-grade elementary students and third-year junior high school students. The test questions used in this survey are basically the same as before (questions are not publicly available), allowing for comparative analysis of data from the three surveys implemented since 2016.
The survey subjects were 30,000 randomly sampled sixth-grade elementary students and 70,000 third-year junior high school students nationwide. The subjects tested for sixth-grade elementary students were Japanese language and mathematics, while for third-year junior high school students they were Japanese language, mathematics, and English. Although previous survey results were only reported through channels such as expert meetings, MEXT decided to release the survey results this time to consider broader discussions on related issues.
The survey results are statistically measured with 500 as the base score. The specific results are as follows: The average score of sixth-grade elementary students in Japanese was 489.9 points, a decrease of 15.9 points from the previous score; the average score in mathematics was 486.3 points, a decrease of 20.9 points from the previous score. The average score of third-year junior high school students in Japanese was 499.0 points, a decrease of 12.7 points from the previous score; the average score in mathematics was 503.0 points, a decrease of 8.0 points from the previous score; the average score in English was 478.2 points, a decrease of 22.9 points from the previous score. In the previous survey, the scores of the subjects of the survey subjects did not decline.
A MEXT official pointed out, "I have never seen such a large drop in scores. The problem is very serious." Professor Hiroaki Mido, a retired professor of educational sociology at Ochanomizu University who has long participated in MEXT's academic ability issue expert meetings, stated, "This result is shocking. The causes of the decline in academic ability are complex, and we need to verify them one by one."
Why did this survey result show a significant decline compared to the previous one? Professor Mido mainly listed the following four reasons: reduced learning time for children; children have not fully mastered the "knowledge and skills" involved in the learning guidance guidelines; the impact of family economic background; and the digital environment, such as social media and games, is different from the past. Professor Mido believes that the fourth point, the digital environment, may be the main cause.
MEXT also conducted a questionnaire survey for parents. The results showed that children's time spent playing electronic games and using smartphones had increased compared to the previous survey, and their time for extracurricular study had significantly decreased. The number of parents no longer obsessed with their children achieving good grades had increased. (Translated by Ma Xiaoyun)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534199156135477810/
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