The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology positions cognitive ability and emotional ability as "scholastic ability" as "three elements of academic ability".Cognitive ability to think, express, and judge using knowledge and skills is important, but emotional ability such as feelings toward learning, independence, and completeness are also important.It is important to cultivate these cognitive and emotional abilities in a well-balanced manner, and we requested that these "scholastic ability" (three elements of academic ability) be imposed on all enrollees in this university entrance examination reform.
However, emotional abilities are difficult to score.Until now, some universities have submitted "reasons for aspirations" for evaluation through comprehensive selection, but what is the degree of contribution to pass / fail?In the first place, it is difficult to evaluate what is highly evaluated and score it with a significant difference.Therefore, the university also turns backwards.Depending on how you think about it, it can be said that you can judge that you are fully motivated just by paying a high tuition fee and applying to go on to university to spend a sensitive four years at university.
While doing so, the wave of declining birthrate is endlessly rushing. More and more universities are being forced into "capacity breaks" and "non-selection".The university entrance rate remains high in the high 50% range, and it cannot be expected that the university entrance rate will rise suddenly and the number of examinees will increase.We are already reluctant to call universities "higher" education.How many universities will be able to retain the selection function in the future?It is said that more than 10% of universities in the United States have a selection function, and it is thought that they will go there. In the high school entrance examination in 2021, the number of applicants decreased due to the decrease in population, and the number of applicants was reduced.This situation will occur three years after the university entrance examination.The number of students in the third and second grades of high school is decreasing by XNUMX, but the number of students in the first grade is decreasing by XNUMX.
On the contrary, since the number of students in the third year of junior high school is increasing, the number of students taking the 2025 entrance examination will increase as the university entrance examination reform is fully implemented and major changes will occur.Therefore, in the high school on the sender side, the career guidance of the third grader, the second grader and the first grader will change drastically.Therefore, there is no doubt that there will be a big difference in the achievements of going on to higher schools between high schools that can respond to such changes and high schools that do not.On the other hand, there is no doubt that the 2025 entrance examination will be a major touchstone for future reforms at the receiving university.
How will it change?University individual exam
In order to create questions according to the new course, it is necessary to grasp the flow of inquiry of the examinee in daily life and problem solving as represented by the chain of questions.It is easy to write a essay if it is a descriptive or essay type, but a multiple-choice type such as the mark sheet method requires a high level of writing ability.Can university officials who create individual exams for each university have such a margin, and can high school sites also handle such questions?It is also worrisome that the faculty members who have practiced the subject matter in the mock exams of the preparatory school have already retired from the university's writing ability when they were overdoctors.
The author's opinion is that if students are required to have solid academic ability in such a situation, they should actively utilize the common test.In the individual test, the academic ability that cannot be measured by the common test is asked.Private universities, which give questions that do not look good in place of the common test, should reconsider and direct the manpower required for the subject to education.Discussion with a small number of people even in university education
And project-based learning is required, and it costs more human resources than ever before.
Of note is the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, which changed the selection method in 2021.A common test is mandatory even for school-recommended types.Individual exams impose comprehensive questions.I think we were able to secure enough enrollees even if the number of applicants decreased significantly.
Education journalist, editorial board member of this magazine Takeo Goto
