SOURCE: Adapted from Jichi Sogo Center. (1991). Education system in Japan. Tokyo: Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation.

The amount of material that is required by Monbusho's guidelines forces high school teachers to move through lessons quickly. Because the college entrance examinations are constructed on the assumption that it is appropriate to cover any topic included in the high school curriculum, omitting material can be costly to students taking the examination. In our interviews, students and teachers generally described the pace of the mathematics curriculum in academic high schools as being very rapid, and many students reported that they struggle to keep up with their lessons. Teachers said that the science curriculum also was demanding, especially in view of the reduced number of hours available each month for classes.

In addition to the separation of Japanese high school students into academic and vocational tracks, a further separation occurs in academic high schools, where students must choose between an emphasis on humanities or science. The level of instruction differs between these two tracks. Humanities students enroll in a series of mathematics courses where the presentation of information is slower, the textbooks are less demanding, and the hours devoted to mathematics are fewer (for example, two versus seven each week in 12^th grade) than in the mathematics courses taken by students in the science track. Nevertheless, even humanities students (as well as students in vocational high schools) with whom we spoke reported studying calculus.

Most of the teachers we interviewed reported that their goal of instruction is exposure, rather than mastery. Although most high school students are exposed to calculus, for example, teachers said they did not expect all their students to understand calculus.

Germany. Curriculum guidelines developed within each state provide a uniform basis for instruction. The level of detail described by the guidelines varies somewhat among the states, but most include the content, learning objectives, and instructional periods required of each type of school.

During elementary school, the greatest number of instructional periods (five instructional hours a week each) is spent on German language studies and mathematics. Instruction in the combined subjects of science and social studies occupies 4 hours a week. These 3 major subjects therefore make up approximately half of the 27 instructional hours taught by elementary school teachers. The remaining 13 hours are devoted to instruction in handwriting, music, physical education, arts and crafts, bicycle safety, and first aid.

Each state also specifies curriculum guidelines for the major subjects in the lower secondary schools. These guidelines include suggestions for adapting the level of difficulty and types of presentation to students in the different types of school. Each guideline covers tasks and goals, pedagogical considerations, tips for developing lesson plans, content requirements for each subject, and the number of periods each subject must be taught at each grade level (see table 4).

Table 4—Example from one German state: Periods of math instruction per week in various tracks at the three school types

NOTE: Each instructional period is approximately 50 minutes in length.

SOURCE: Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Science, and the Arts [BSME]. 1993. Education in Bavaria: A survey. Munich: Verlag u. Druckerei G.J. Manz AG.

Teachers with whom we spoke indicated that the manner in which the state's guidelines are put into practice differs from school to school within a state, for teachers are permitted to revise and supplement the content of the curriculum depending upon the social, economic, and cultural backgrounds of each school's students. Thus, lesson plans are based on the official guidelines, but it is up to individual teachers and their colleagues to decide how to apportion the time spent on each topic.

The Gymnasium is typically divided into lower (grades 5 to 10) and upper (grades 11 to 12 or 13) levels. In addition, a Gymnasium often specializes in certain subject areas and students can choose among those that offer one or more different tracks. For example, curricular specializations in the lower tracks may include an emphasis on classical languages, mathematics and science, modern languages, or the arts. Regardless of the specialization chosen, there is compulsory instruction in German, two foreign languages, history, geography, mathematics, science, art and music, physical education, and civics.

Courses are taught at basic and advanced levels in the upper level of the Gymnasium throughout Germany (Conference of Ministers of Education 1989). Courses at the advanced level treat the material in a more comprehensive manner and are notably more difficult than courses at the basic level. Four compulsory areas of study are defined:

Religion is designated as a "compulsory" area, but its presence in the curriculum is left to the discretion of the individual states.

During grades 12 and 13, students are required as a minimum to take a total of 22 periods per week each semester in Areas I and III, 16 weekly periods in Area II, and 8 in Area IV. Students entering 12^th grade must also choose two advanced courses, one of which must be either mathematics or a science. A 1987 reform also required all students to be continuously enrolled in at least two (three in Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland) of the following subjects: German, foreign language, and mathematics (Conference of Ministers of Education 1989). At least two semesters of history or another social science with a historical focus are required, and if German is taken as the primary advanced course, one of the four Abitur examination subjects must be mathematics or a foreign language.

United States. Some states and some school districts require that the schools follow the curriculum guidelines that have been developed by administrative bodies at these levels. In the cases where schools retain local autonomy over curricular decisions, the schools may choose either to adopt or ignore state or district guidelines. This choice is influenced by many factors, including the school's history of academic achievement, its financial resources, and community standards. In our interviews, for example, principals and teachers at schools that scored above the mean on state assessment tests said that the state curriculum guidelines were not relevant to curriculum development in their school because the state guidelines defined minimum standards rather than serving as a challenging goal. On the other hand, principals at schools where students were consistently performing below the mean on the state assessment tests regarded the guidelines as a goal they were striving to meet.

Regardless of the source of the curriculum guidelines, most elementary school students in the United States receive instruction in four core areas: language arts (spelling, writing, reading), mathematics, social studies, and science. The remainder of the day is spent in non-core courses, including art, music, drama, dance, and physical education. State guidelines often provide recommendations for school districts on the number of minutes of instruction that should be provided to students in each subject. Table 5 illustrates the time allotments recommended by the state guidelines of one midwestern state.

Table 5—Example of one state's recommended hours of instruction time each week for subjects at the third grade in the United States

NOTE: *Other includes physical education, art, music, computers, etc.

SOURCE: Unpublished principal interviews, Third International Mathematics and Science Study, Case Study Project, 1994–95.

Although the core areas continue to receive the most attention during middle school and junior high school, the content of the courses diverges, especially in areas such as mathematics and science. (For simplicity, we will refer to both types of school as junior high schools.) Of the junior high schools we visited, most offered at least two levels of mathematics. Some offered more than one level of science and language arts; others offered three or more levels. Further differentiation of courses occurs at the high school level. Most of the high schools we visited offered courses at a minimum of three levels of difficulty in mathematics, science, and language arts, typically ranging, in the case of mathematics, from general mathematics to honors or advanced placement courses. This degree of differentiation occurs in the all-purpose high schools in the United States because of the need to accommodate differences in the students' abilities, interests, motivation, and knowledge. Such a high degree of differentiation of courses within a single school is unnecessary in the already highly differentiated high schools of Japan and Germany.

Creating consensus on guidelines is a first, important step taken in both Germany and Japan for establishing education standards. A second step is to create mechanisms by which these guidelines can be implemented. This is accomplished in diverse ways. Responsibility is assumed by the national government in Japan and by the state governments in Germany. In the United States, it is accomplished by several different agencies.

Japan. One of the most direct means of implementing the curriculum is through controlling the content of textbooks. As was indicated earlier, Monbusho reviews all commercially produced textbooks in terms of their adherence to the curriculum guidelines and quality of presentation, and must approve the books before they can be used. Teacher committees at the school are then responsible for selecting textbooks from those approved by Monbusho. Although textbooks from several companies are approved for each subject in elementary and junior high schools, all are at the same level of difficulty. This is not the case for high school courses, where Monbusho approves textbooks at three levels, ranging from easy to difficult.

Supplementary practice booklets for students, along with the textbooks, are used to illustrate the content of the day's lesson. According to our observations, however, the most frequently used materials were neither textbooks nor practice booklets, but worksheets designed by the teachers.

Teachers we interviewed stated that the implementation of the curriculum is also facilitated through the use of teachers' guides and instructional plans, both of which provide step-by-step examples of ways the lessons can be taught. The guides are published to accompany the textbooks, but the instructional plans are usually obtained from demonstrations that Japanese teachers hold for their colleagues modeling new ways to present a particular lesson. Our interviews and observations also indicated that in addition to attending these demonstrations, teachers participate in department meetings where they share with each other their ideas and concerns about instruction.

Germany. Teachers and administrators whom we interviewed said that textbooks in Germany must conform to the state's guidelines and must be approved by a state committee before they can be adopted by the state's schools. Elementary school teachers indicated that they often form grade-level committees to select the textbooks. Their decisions are especially important because all children are expected to receive the same basic education through the fourth grade. In order to allow students to work at their own pace, teachers said they occasionally used supplementary materials such as photocopied practice sheets.

Textbooks typically establish the content and organization of courses, but if a German teacher decides that the textbooks are too difficult or otherwise unsatisfactory, the textbooks are used only for reference and the teachers develop their own course material. In fact, Gymnasium teachers reported that textbooks in mathematics and science were used mainly for reference and review, rather than as an integral part of their courses.

United States. Textbooks in the United States are published for the national market (Venezky 1992). Because there are no national guidelines, publishers have had a wide degree of latitude to develop and market books that they believe will have the greatest sales. However, teachers with whom we talked noted that some state departments of education have begun to evaluate the degree to which the content of the textbooks matches the state's curriculum guidelines, and to recommend that school districts use those books approved by the state. We found that even when the state did not make textbook recommendations, the textbooks selected by schools were often ones that incorporated topics covered in state assessment tests. According to the teachers we interviewed, schools often formed committees of teachers according to grade-level or department to select textbooks.

Adding further to the diversity in the use of textbooks is the high degree of independence granted to U.S. teachers. Their autonomy was evident in the fact that some teachers we met had developed courses on their own, despite the fact that a textbook had been authorized for use in the schools.

A common procedure for establishing standards for students' performance is through quizzes, examinations, and homework assignments. These methods for evaluating the degree to which the content of the curricula has been acquired differed greatly among the countries in their use and frequency.

Japan. Japanese teachers with whom we talked reported that in contrast to the small tests given every 4 to 6 weeks in elementary school classes, Japanese junior high and high school students take two major examinations each semester. These examinations, usually given at the middle and end of the semester, are similar in form and content to the entrance examinations students take to enter high school and college. Generally, teachers reported using short in-class tests sparingly and placed their emphasis on the periodic examinations.

Some of the elementary schools we visited in Japan explicitly forbid the assigning of homework. Teachers noted however, that this does not mean that students are not expected to study. Rather than have the students complete homework assignments, teachers said that they expected students to review the content of the past day's lesson and prepare for the next day's lesson.

Germany. The number and length of examinations that can be given at each grade in German schools are defined by the state ministry. For example, elementary school teachers in one state said that they are not permitted to give written examinations in the first grade; in second grade it is not permissible to give more than four tests in German and four in mathematics (each no more than 15 minutes long). By third and fourth grades, six tests up to 30 minutes in length in each of these subjects are permitted.

Teachers also reported that depending on the state's guidelines, Hauptschule and Realschule students take between four and six examinations each year, as well as brief quizzes and oral examinations in mathematics, German, and English. In other subjects, two examinations are permitted. According to the teachers, Realschule and Gymnasium students are assigned homework every night, primarily to enable the teacher to evaluate how well the students understand the lessons.

United States. We found from our interviews that U.S. teachers at all grade levels have considerable discretion over both the frequency and content of the tests given in class, although some states provide guidelines or regulations regarding the number of class hours which may be used for testing. Among the elementary schools and junior high schools we visited, tests and quizzes are given every 2 or 3 weeks, or at the end of every unit covered in the textbook. Among mathematics teachers, however, quizzes are often given on a weekly basis to assure the teacher that the students are up-to-date in their understanding of the content of the course. The frequency of tests declines markedly during high school, and social science subjects, in particular, may consist of only a midterm and a final examination.

In our discussion with teachers, many indicated that rather than relying solely on traditional testing methods designed to evaluate students' levels of achievement, many school districts were beginning to include performance-based assessments that complement or replace traditional testing methods. These assessments require students to demonstrate what they know by responding to problems they have not previously seen and by applying skills and information they are expected to have acquired in class. Included in the performance-based assessments are portfolios of student work, exhibitions, science experiments, interviews, homework assignments and performances.

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[Chapter 2 - Education Standards (Part 1 of 3)]

[Chapter 2 - Education Standards (Part 3 of 3)]