Features
Despite results, opinions on proficiency-based teaching still split parents, teachers
An increasing number of elementary and junior high schools across Japan are introducing what's called a "proficiency-dependent teaching" system -- dividing students into different study groups for specific subjects according to ability.
While the system is hoped to stop the decline of Japan's academic standards among children, there is strong criticism that the system could lead to discrimination.
Mitaka Municipal Kitano Elementary School in Tokyo is an "advanced" public school, which has implemented a proficiency-dependent small-group teaching system in arithmetic, under the slogan: "Kitano, the pioneer of arithmetic education." Its arithmetic course for sixth graders separates three classes into four study groups comprised of one for advanced level, two for basic level and one for remedial level, depending on students' progress.
The remedial group has just 12 students. With a special instructor sent from the municipal government teaching the class, Kitano Elementary School pays meticulous attention to the children in the group. During one class in which students in all levels were studying the calculation of averages, children in the remedial group worked on relatively easy exercises compared to those in the advanced or basic groups, who were studying calculations involving three digits or decimals.
"Students have been relieved from the stress caused by concerns about falling behind their classmates ... Many of them now proactively answer the teacher's questions," says 42-year-old teacher Masayuki Kosuge.
"The class was easy to understand," says one student.
Proficiency-dependent teaching involves various methods. At Kitano Elementary School, team teaching is employed for the first- and second-grade students, where multiple teachers are engaged in any given class. The progress-oriented system starts to be applied from the third grade year, when the students' degree of understanding begins to vary between individuals, and from the fifth grade most of the subjects are taught based on the progress-oriented system.
Study groups are re-arranged as each unit is completed. Based on test results for each one, teachers determine how much progress students have made, and discuss with students as to which study group they would like to proceed with for the next unit. The ultimate choice is left up to the individual. Therefore, in some cases, students who studied in the remedial group for one unit could move up to the basic or advanced group for another unit at which they're good at.
About 10 years ago, Kitano Elementary School faced behavioral issues, with some students using abusive language to teachers, or leaving lines and wandering around during school ceremonies. In an attempt to tackle the problem, a school official proposed the proficiency-based systems for arithmetic classes for the first time.
Principal Kyoko Takahashi, who was the school's vice-principal in 2002 when the system was introduced, recalls their decision. "Effects of the new method were most evident in arithmetic. We aimed to have children gain confidence."
Teachers at classrooms, however, strongly opposed the introduction of this educational system, saying it amounted to rating the children.
"As the students became more enthusiastic, teachers and parents started to change their minds," Takahashi says. "Another merit of instructing students across class boundaries is that teachers, who used to focus only on the students of their own class, began to pay attention to all the students of the grade and collaborate with other classes."
In a nationwide achievement test in 2008, mathematics test results for Kitano Elementary School showed a significantly higher ratio of correct answers compared to the average ratio for the country or Tokyo. Last year, the school also started the progress-oriented learning system in Japanese classes for several grades.
"We divide children who can swim and who can't into different groups in swimming lessons. We are doing exactly the same in arithmetic and language classes," Principal Takahashi said.
The number of schools introducing the proficiency-dependent teaching has grown rapidly since around 2000, as a trend of deteriorating academic standards emerged. Among the schools which took part in the nationwide survey on academic ability in 2008, those that implemented the proficiency-dependent teaching in mathematics accounted for 68 percent of elementary schools and 51 percent for junior high schools, and a survey by a private research company indicates that 80 percent of parents support this teaching style.
On the other hand, there is still opposition. An experienced teacher at an elementary school in Saitama Prefecture says: "We are not a cram school. We do not have to divide children based on their learning abilities. Having a small class will be effective enough. It is also helpful to have children with diverse abilities in the same class."
Furthermore, some people have pointed out that proficiency-dependent teaching has not been proven effective in improving students' academic standards. In a 2008 arithmetic achievement test, no clear relationship between proficiency-dependent classroom hours and correct answer ratio could be found when overall results were studied, even though there were signs that the teaching style had contributed to raising the basic academic level of underachieving students.
"We cannot expect an immediate effect. Introducing the proficiency-dependent teaching alone does not necessarily lead to the improvements in students' scholastic abilities," the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology concluded.
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) June 21, 2009