Due to the spread of the infection, the results of the "National Academic Achievement Test", which was held for the first time in two years, were announced on August 31st.
While no difference in the percentage of correct answers was confirmed depending on the length of the school holidays last year, there were issues such as 60% of junior high school students feeling uneasy about studying during the school holidays.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will analyze the impact in detail.
<What you can see in this article>
▽ The relationship between the length of the school closure period and the correct answer rate is
▽ Correct answer rate by prefecture (listed)
▽ Continuous questionnaire survey Featured item pick-up
▽ Anxiety about disparity in school closure
▽ What do you do to support the learning of children in needy families?
▽ What did the experts on educational inequality see?
Average correct answer rate this time
The "National Academic Achievement Test" was conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for sixth graders and third graders nationwide, and was canceled last year due to the spread of infection. 2 million people participated.
The average correct answer rate was
▽ elementary school national language 64.9%, math 70.3%,
▽ junior high school national language 64.9%, mathematics 57.5%,
which was about 8 points lower than the previous time in junior high school national language.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology says that it is not possible to simply compare because the difficulty of the problem is different.
What is the impact of the corona sickness period?
We are also investigating the impact of the corona disaster, and the period of temporary school closures for all areas since April last year was "50 days or more and less than 60 days", which was 30 days or more in more than 80% of schools.
As for home study during this period, more than 80% of elementary and junior high schools implemented "textbook-based instructions" and "print distribution created by schools", while "simultaneous interactive online instruction" was implemented at all schools. Only 3% of elementary school students and 5% of junior high school students did.
Although the difference in the average correct answer rate due to the length of the school holiday was not seen overall, the impact of family conditions will be analyzed in the future.
Only
38% of junior high school students answered that they were able to study systematically
while the school was closed,
and
elementary school students
who
answered that they were
"applicable" or "somewhat applicable"
to the question "did you feel uneasy about studying?"
It was 55% and 63% for junior high school students.
When asked what to do when there was something they didn't understand, many answered "I asked my family" or "I looked it up myself", while "I left what I didn't understand". Elementary school students accounted for 10%, and junior high school students accounted for 14%.
Hiroko Asahara, director of the Academic Achievement Research Office of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said, "Although there is no big difference in academic ability due to the period of school closure, some children left it as it was without asking anyone what they did not understand, so they will not be left behind. I want to analyze the impact in detail. "
The results by prefecture are ...
The highest percentage of correct answers by prefecture in public
schools
was
▽ The national language of elementary schools was 71% in Akita and Ishikawa prefectures,
followed by 69% in Aomori and Fukui prefectures.
▽ Arithmetic was 74% in Tokyo and Ishikawa prefectures,
followed by Toyama prefecture, Fukui prefecture and Kyoto prefecture with 73%.
▽ Junior high school is 69% in Ishikawa prefecture,
followed by 68% in Akita prefecture, 67% in
Tokyo and Fukui prefecture,
▽ 63% in mathematics in Ishikawa prefecture
, 61% in Fukui prefecture
, 60 in Akita and Tokyo %was.
Comparing the prefectures with the highest percentage of correct answers and the prefectures with the lowest percentage of correct answers for each subject, the difference was 7 to 11 points. It is said that the situation is not widespread.
"Future dreams" and "school fun" are at record lows
Among the questionnaire surveys that are continuously conducted for children and students,
the percentage of those who answered "Yes" in
the item "I have future dreams and goals
" was
▽ 60% of elementary school students, which is a corona sickness. It
decreased by 5.7 points from
the
previous fiscal year 2019,
which was conducted before,
and
▽ even junior high school students
decreased by
4.4 points to 41%.
In the item "I think it's fun to go to school",
"Applicable" was
▽ elementary school students decreased by 6 points from the previous time to 48%, and
▽ junior high school students
decreased by
2.4 points to 43%.
This is the lowest ever since we started investigating each item.
When the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology asked experts for their views on this result, there were fewer opportunities to achieve the goal, such as school events being canceled due to the spread of infection, conversations at school lunches, and contact with friends. It was pointed out that the background was changes in school life, such as restrictions on school lunches.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology wants to continue to pay close attention to the impact of psychological changes under the corona and take necessary support measures.
Half of "regular life" and "game time" increased significantly
In this achievement test,
have heard about the students of the situation during the period of the last year of the simultaneous closing of school,
the question, "Were you sent a regular life",
and the "true", "true if anything",
positive The percentage of respondents who answered
▽ was 63% for elementary school students and ▽ 48% for junior high school students.
Also
, when asked about the time spent playing games on TV and smartphones on weekdays,
not only during school holidays
, 29% of elementary school students and 32% of junior high school students
answered that "more than 3 hours a day"
,
both in 2017. It increased by about 11 points from the annual survey, and in
"1 hour or more per day",
▽ elementary school students accounted for 76% and ▽ junior high school students 80%,
both of which increased by about 20 points.
For both elementary and junior high school students, the average correct answer rate for each subject tends to decrease as the game time per day increases, and there is a difference of 15 to 20 points between children who play games for 4 hours or more a day and children who do not play games at all. bottom.
Hiroko Asahara, director of the Academic Achievement Research Office of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said, "In addition to the spread of smartphones, children are unable to play outside due to the spread of infection, and it seems that the background is that they spend more time at home. Games and smartphones. I would like to make efforts to disseminate and enlighten people so that long-term use of smartphones will not affect their daily lives such as disturbed lifestyles. "
Anxiety about disparity due to school closure In single-parent families ...
Mothers in their 40s, who are raising children by themselves in a difficult financial situation, are worried that the gap will widen due to the experience of not being able to guarantee their learning and living during the school holidays.
A mother in her 40s, who lives in the Tokai region with her son in fourth grade and daughter in first grade in high school, leaves her child at home during the school holidays last year, goes to work at 8 am, and returns home in the evening. I had to continue my life for a while.
However, when I came back from work, I realized that it was difficult for my son, who was in the third grade at the time, to study for a long time with his son playing games in his pajamas without changing clothes and eating. It is said that it was done.
The mother said, "It is quite difficult to spend a day in a planned manner with one child under elementary school age. There is a difference between heaven and earth from a family where parents can stay at home and protect their learning and life. I think it was. I don't want the school to be closed all at once because it makes a difference in academic ability and leaves scratches in terms of mental care. "
My son, a fourth grader, said, "I couldn't go out in Corona while I was closed, and I couldn't play with my friends, so I had only free time. I did a little study, but when I didn't understand, I gave up everything."
After the school resumed, the class progressed two to three times faster, such as having a test once every two days. I think it was a pain to be left behind. I cried so much that I didn't like going to school in the morning, and for a few months I was scared of school and had nothing to enjoy. I will. "
In the end, I had to quit my full-time job, and I'm still looking for a job, but I haven't found a job that meets the conditions. I am worried that there will be a gap in academic ability with families who can invest in education because they cannot afford it. There was a change that tablet terminals were distributed and preparations for online classes were a little better, but is it really usable? It's a trial and error process, and I'm worried about my school teachers and my family. "
The site of support for children in needy families who lose their motivation
This academic ability test highlighted the challenges of learning and living while the school is closed, but at the cram school for children in economically deprived families, individual support is provided so that the motivation for studying does not decline due to corona damage. Efforts to do so are continuing.
A free cram school run by an NPO in Tokyo holds a one-on-one tutoring session twice a month for elementary and junior high school students in economically difficult families such as single parents. Currently, foreign nationals About 20 people, including children from Tokyo, attend.
Even during the summer vacation, the children worked on homework and reviewing the first semester while being taught by volunteers.
According to the cram school, some children did not have a room or desk to study at home, and while their families were absent from work, it was difficult for them to continue studying alone during the school holidays.
For this reason, volunteers not only provide learning support, but also record and share items such as whether they are willing to study, whether they are interested, or praise points, and their motivation for studying does not decline. We are also focusing on mental support.
A 5th grade girl said, "It's fun to communicate with the teacher's words here. During the school holidays, I couldn't concentrate on my studies and it took me a long time. That's right, I was at a loss what to do with my homework. "
A second-year junior high school girl of foreign nationality said, "I couldn't understand what I was able to do before the school was closed. When I stayed at home, I couldn't understand it. So it's easy to understand. "
Kenji Nakajima, a free cram school run by the NPO "Kids Door," said, "Parents of children here are busy with work, and when they are closed all at once, they lose motivation and lose motivation at home and at school. However, there were many cases where they were left as they were. There is a risk that the difference that had existed in the past due to the corona disaster will widen further, and it may appear in various numbers in a few years. There is nothing to worry about in everyday life. I asked him if he was patient, and after stabilizing his mentality, he was conscious of the learning side and the two-step support. "
Expert "Concerns about some children giving up learning"
Regarding the results of this survey, Associate Professor Ryoji Matsuoka of Waseda University, who is familiar with educational disparities, said, "The reason why the difference due to the period of school holidays did not show the correct answer rate is that there are many efforts at school such as shortening the summer vacation after that. I'm thinking. However, in the home situation, a child whose parents were at home by remote work or attended an online school could ask someone about their learning questions, but the parents went to work outside. It is possible that there was a difference in the quantity and quality of learning during the school holidays, such as having to leave the school and leaving the child at home alone. "
On top of that, "Even if it is not visible in this survey, the impact of corona may come out over the next few years depending on the financial situation of the family. There may be some people who give up learning in I point out.
Based on the expectation that the school will be closed due to the spread of infection in the future, "The impact of the school closure will vary greatly depending on the environment of the child and the family. Children in single-parent families can go to school even while the school is closed. Even if the sense of fairness is lost to some extent, it is necessary to give priority to using time and resources especially for children in a harsh family environment. "