SHINAGAWA CITY, TOKYO: The problem with the declining performance of Japan's students is much more serious than generally thought. Many junior high students cannot do basic arithmetic, like multiplication and fractional calculations.

When junior high schools need to spend time reviewing what is taught in elementary school, the classes become boring. This often breeds antagonism among students. Schools in Shinagawa City in southeastern Tokyo have found a way to end this vicious cycle.

Shinagawa City has introduced a system that allows students and their parents to choose which elementary and junior high schools they attend. This has proved to be a major step toward improving student performance at underachieving schools.

It was doubtful whether teachers at failing schools were seriously trying to improve the quality of teaching. The new system is designed to ensure that children are educated to the minimum standards without having to attend cram schools.

The student and parent school selection system has been criticized for promoting the grading of schools and perpetuating performance differences. But there have long been rankings and performance differences among schools.

Few education policymakers have been willing to confront the realities and take steps to provide strong incentives for schools with poor reputations to narrow the gap.

Schools for compulsory education tend to become complacent because new students automatically come every year. Reforming such schools required a radical change in the mind-set of teachers.

A system allowing students and their parents to choose schools, which means some schools may fail to attract enough students, puts huge pressure on teachers to improve student performance.

The introduction of the selection system prodded many once unenthusiastic teachers at underperforming schools into efforts to become more competitive with high-performing schools. Public education must not just provide equal opportunities for education but also ensure equal quality of education.

The initiative has led to notable gains at all elementary and junior high schools in Shinagawa City, clearly shown by the results of achievement tests.

Using past test data, the municipal board of education estimates the expected percentage of students able to pass the tests by the time they finish elementary school.

These percentages are used to assess overall student performance, with the data for individual elementary schools made public.

We assume schools fail to achieve because of poor teaching. Based on this assumption, we instruct failing schools to take measures to improve. These can include adding two more hours per week of classes and forming smaller classes based on achievement. Goals are then set for the next year. This target-driven approach can help underachieving schools attract children.

Measures such as reducing the number of students in a class by increasing the number of teachers require financial support from Shinagawa City. The board of education provides special budget appropriations for schools requesting money for such upgrades.

We have also created a teacher evaluation system to provide parents with information when selecting schools. An independent evaluation committee has been created for each of the 58 public elementary and junior high schools in Shinagawa City.

A panel of eight members from outside the school system, including people from the parent-teacher association along with academic experts, evaluates teacher performance. Based on the four possible grades given by the panel, the board of education gives the final assessment of teachers' performances. Each school also grades its teachers based on their self-evaluations.

Schools and their evaluation committees discuss their respective evaluations. When there are large differences in the grades given by the two parties, we usually put greater weight on the independent panel's evaluations.

This system achieves its objectives if only to help teachers identify the problems with their teaching methods so they can work to improve themselves.

Elementary schools in Shinagawa City also offer a "step-up learning" program designed to ensure that children acquire basic scholastic proficiency by the end of the fourth grade.

While elementary and junior high schools in Shinagawa City have begun to compete with each other to improve student performance, wide differences in popularity have emerged among schools.

In response to the problem of a small number of schools being particularly popular we set student quotas for some schools. Such reform requires flexible responses and continuous policy adjustments from the administration.

The author is superintendent of the board of education of Shinagawa City, Tokyo. The Asashi Shimbun

(China Daily 05/29/2007 page11)