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Abstract from the NASSMC Briefing Service (NBS) that is supported by 
the National Security Agency (NSA) and ExxonMobil Foundation, 
Tuesday, November 9, 2004. Original article appeared in the Wall 
Street Journal, Wednesday, November 3, 2004, p. A 1. See 
http://www.wsj.com -- need to be a subscriber.
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As Test Scores Fall, Japanese Schools Get Harsh Lesson

Disappointed by their country's declining performance on 
international tests, Japanese parents and educators are beginning to 
rebel against the Education Ministry's switch to "loose education."

Once known for a strictly disciplined school system that regularly 
churned out top scorers on international exams, Japan decided to 
de-emphasize memorization and shift the focus to critical thinking in 
the 1990s. The country modeled its changes on schooling in the United 
States, which seemed to be faring better in the global economy.

But charging that the reforms are only making students dumber, dozens 
of Japanese school districts are now returning to the daily drills 
and heavy workloads of the past. One of the loudest cheerleaders for 
rote-intensive learning is Hideo Kageyama, head of the Tsuchido 
Elementary School in western Japan. After adopting a Kageyama-devised 
instructional method that utilizes timed math drills and repetitive 
recitations, the school's test scores climbed so quickly that the 
educator became a national celebrity. Books promoting his methods 
have sold four million copies.

Kageyama argues that the constant drills do not make his students 
robotic, but instead improve their creativity. "Cramming facts is 
good for students," he says. "It energizes the brain, just like 
booting up a PC."
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Jerry P. Becker
Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL  62901-4610
Phone:  (618) 453-4241  [O]
             (618) 457-8903  [H]
Fax:      (618) 453-4244
E-mail:   jbecker@siu.edu