Farewell to Exam Hell - Pt. 1

Credit: icla.ygu.edu.ac.jp

Imagine you take one test that determines your life’s direction. Starting with the high school you go to, the subjects you study, whether you go to university or not, and if so, where. A handful of academic exams near the end of middle school start this process for ninth graders like Lady E. (Ed. notes: In Japan, middle school is from grades 7-9, high school is from 10-12th grade. Even some elementary schoolkids take exams for admission to good middle schools.) Zoinks!

Based on their exam results, students are either accepted or rejected from their choice of high school(s), the academic level of which is defined in Japan and establishes if you go to a "good" post-secondary school (or not). Now, imagine taking those incredibly stressful exams – at the age of 14 or 15 – after several months of relentless study and social pressure. Daunting, isn't it? That’s why Japanese adults call it “juken” (school entrance exams) while the students often dub it “exam hell.”

Could you, even unwittingly, decide your life path at 14? At that age, I couldn’t choose whether to eat my carrots or peas first. Or focus long enough to watch an entire episode of the A-Team on TV. Having experienced how grueling exam hell is for them and their families, I empathize with these kids.

That said, this post is not an appraisal of Japanese testing methods nor a comparison with other countries’ approaches. Education systems reflect local cultures and long-established social norms. Exam hell is part of growing up in Japan and unavoidable unless you can pay for international schools. Plus, there are numerous benefits to a Japanese-style education. So, my view has always been (paraphrasing Dale Carnegie) to accept the things you cannot change and cooperate with the inevitable.

Elena took on the high school juken exams and we are proud to say she succeeded. She studied hard, was thwarted by one exam, yet ultimately was accepted into the school she wanted. It took hundreds of hours of study, plenty of anguish, and her going to cram school. More than 70% of Japanese kids go for private tutoring at for-profit cram schools called "juku” during some point of their school life. Often, normal school education is perceived as insufficient for success, especially before the big entrance exams. Parents thus dispatch their kids to a juku after school and on weekends. All this amounts to a significant load of psychological pressure. It’s also a frequent topic among parents fretting about their kid’s future and bitching about the cost. In short, juken often trumps family interaction and social life for months.

Yet Lady E. achieved her goal. I wanted to mark the milestone with this backgrounder on examination hell. The next post will be a Q&A about her thoughts about it all.

To be continued.