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divided between a small, educated elite and the masses. Rather, the modern sectors of Japan's economy
require the skilled participation of nearly all Japanese. Furthermore, Japan is a «meritocracy» shaped by an
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educational competition that enrolls nearly everyone. And this is fitting, for Japan is a nation that, lacking
natural resources, must live by its wits, by social discipline, and by plain hard work.
2.It is not surprising, therefore, to discover that during the last twenty years Japan has quietly been
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establishing a new, higher set of educational standards for the world. On a whole raft of international tests
of achievement in science and math, Japanese students outperform all others. Japan's newspaper readership
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level is the world's highest. A considerably larger percentage of Japanese (90 percent) than Americans (75
percent) or Europeans (mostly below 50 percent) finish the twelfth grade, and greater proportion of males
complete university B.A. degrees in Japan than in other countries. Japanese children attend school about
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fifty more days each year than American students, which means that, by high-school graduation, they have
been in school somewhere between three and four more years than their American counterparts. Added to
this is the fact that requirements in all basic subjects are heavier in Japan and that elementary-level
education in art and music is universal and quite advanced. No one now denies that this is a most
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impressive portrait of national achievement. Japan has succeeded in holding very high standards for
virtually its entire population, standards typical of elites in Western countries. It would not be an
exaggeration to say that in many respects the upper half of Japan's graduating high-school students possess
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a level of knowledge and the analytic skills equivalent to the average American graduating from college.
Until several years ago, we hardly noted these accomplishments, and the Japanese themselves never
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boasted of them but rather emphasized the costs incurred in achieving such success. One simple fact cannot
be ignored: Japanese education to the college level has been made into an extraordinarily efficient engine
for economic and social advancement. Japan's standards are becoming ours through the agency of free
trade.
3.Consider the following sobering comparisons:
TOTAL EDUCATION EXPENDITURE AS A
PERCENTAGE OF GNP
FOUR-YEAR-OLDS ATTENDING SCHOOL
STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM TWELFTH
GRADE
AVERAGE DAILY HOURS OF HOMEWORK
DURING HIGH SCHOOL
DAILY ABSENTEE RATE
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
6%
7%
63%
32%
90%
77%
2.0
0.5
VERY LOW
9%
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4.What explains this level of accomplishment? In the background most certainly are such things as the
long-standing respect for education held by the Japanese and the traditional view that diligence in school is
a path to greatness. It is also true that Japanese society contains fewer social problems of the kind that
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make mass public education difficult. The country has few immigrants and few minorities. The divorce and
unemployment rates are quite low. Drug problems are minimal, and juvenile delinquency is not as serious a
problem as in this country. Such profound social differences raise the question of whether our schools and
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teachers might not produce results equal to Japan's if only they had the same kind of student population. In
my opinion, the gap in results between the Japanese and American system would shrink considerably.
Acknowledging this, however, does not change the fact of Japan's challenge, nor does it remove from
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serious consideration the question of whether there is much to be learned from Japan's approach.
5.Another explanation for the success of Japanese schools centers on the firm hand of the national
65 Ministry of Education in setting standards and curriculum for the country. Standards serve as foundations
for the entire effort, and the standards applied are equivalent to those used for elite education in the United
States and Europe. I will return to this topic when we consider what might be learned from Japan.
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6.Very important, too, is the motivation that stems from the nation's very competitive university entrance