Kokonyushi to Naishinsho (School Records and High School Admissions in Japan)

In the Japanese educational system, student paths diverge significantly upon entering and graduating from high school. “Entering” refers to high school entrance examinations, while “graduating” refers to branching pathways leading to employment, vocational schools, junior colleges, four-year universities, and other options.
 
The sociology of education seeking to clarify the characteristics and challenges of the Japanese educational system, naturally focuses on this differentiation at the high school level from multiple perspectives. Studies have explored various aspects including employment mechanisms for high school graduates, university entrance examinations, opportunities for higher education, and career guidance in junior high and high schools. However, studies on high school admission systems remain relatively scarce. There is a strong perception that these procedures involve objective selection by examining academic abilities. Consequently, scholarly interest has largely focused not on the selection mechanism itself, but on how student career paths diverge after knowing the results.
 
After entering high school, students at specialized vocational institutions tend to proceed toward employment, whereas students at general academic high schools, particularly those oriented toward university entrance, predominantly pursue higher education. This phenomenon has been conceptualized as “tracking,” similar to the lanes on a running track, and scholars have examined its intensity and changes over time. Consequently, studies on high school entrance examinations, the first and most significant branching point in educational trajectories, have been conspicuously lacking, similar to an air pocket in the field.
 
Principal Investigator Nakamura previously conducted research that conceptualized the expansion of non-academic selection methods in university admissions as a form of mass selection. Building on this perspective, he particularly focused on school records in the context of high school admissions. Although this topic holds both academic significance and novelty, school records are frequently discussed in the media, making them socially relevant themes of considerable public interest. To investigate this issue, I conducted surveys of high school admissions. However, progress was limited when working alone; therefore, interested members at the University of Tokyo formed a collaborative research group and launched a new joint project. This book presents the findings of that collaboration.
 
The results are diverse. Although high school admission systems vary by prefecture, they share common features. School records exert a dual influence: a suppressive force that confines junior high school students to grade-centered school life, and a relieving force that mitigates the stress of a one-shot examination system. This duality appears in many data dimensions. For those interested in the reality of high school admissions and school records, a topic that may stir bittersweet memories, we warmly invite you to read this book.
 

(Written by NAKAMURA Takayasu, Professor, Graduate School of Education / 2025)