Elementary School Entrance Exams (Ojuken): Where Do You Start?

Why this topic is on your mind

In families with children in nenchū or nenchō, this topic suddenly comes up at a certain point.

• The names of ojuken cram schools have started coming up in conversations among parents at the same kindergarten or daycare
• Parents have begun talking in concrete terms about the reputations of local private and national elementary schools
• Invitations to information sessions, flyers, and online ads for ojuken cram schools have suddenly become noticeable
• You feel pressured by phrases like “If you don’t start in autumn of nenchū, you won’t make it in time” or “More families are starting in nenshō”
• Your family is divided between “let’s take the exams” and “I don’t want our child to”

In the Tokyo and Kansai areas, ojuken is an option with a certain presence, but its realities (exam content, costs, preparation period, burden on the child) are hard to see unless you are directly involved. Here, we set out the research, public statistics, and surveys of trends in the cram-school industry side by side, and offer material for your family to decide.

Types of elementary school entrance exams: five main options

“Ojuken” tends to be talked about as one thing, but in reality the options differ greatly in character.

Even when people simply say “going to a private elementary school”, highly competitive schools aiming at continuous progression all the way to an affiliated university and small private schools rooted in the local community differ completely in the burden of preparation, the kind of family they look for, and life after admission. Before narrowing down target schools, the starting point is to sort out “which type of option you are considering”.

Exam content: five areas

Elementary school entrance exams are very different from the ‘academic test-centered’ image of junior high school exams and later. Combining the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute (2022)“Survey on Private Elementary Schools” with materials published by individual schools, they can be broadly divided into the following five areas.

• Paper test: comparing numbers, shapes, remembering a story, seasons and general knowledge, reasoning, and so on. It does not test reading and writing; the main format is for preschool children to “look at pictures and questions and answer”. At highly competitive schools, 30–60 minutes per session with multiple answer sheets
• Behavioral observation: children play in groups, and their sociability, cooperation, concentration, and response to instructions are observed. For example, “Let’s build a castle with blocks together with your friends” or “Let’s take turns while we play”
• Physical activity: balance beam, hopping on one foot, ball throwing, copying exercises, rhythmic movement. Basic physical ability and understanding of instructions are assessed
• Interview: an interview with the child (name, favorite food, family, experiences) and an interview with both parents present (reasons for applying, the family’s educational policy, upbringing, the child’s strengths and weaknesses)
• Making things and fine motor skills: scissors, glue, tying string, drawing, clay. Manual dexterity, and persistence and approach to the task, are assessed

In other words, an elementary school entrance exam is an exam that evaluates the overall behavior of “a 6- to 7-year-old child concentrating on tasks in front of unfamiliar adults”. Even a child who gets full marks on paper is unlikely to pass if judged in behavioral observation to be ‘hitting other children’ or ‘not following instructions’, and the reverse is also true.

Main timing of preparation

Combining the Gakken Educational Research Institute’s Gakken Educational Research Institute (2023)“Survey on Trends in Elementary School Entrance Exams” with materials published by ojuken cram schools in the Tokyo area, the standard timeline of preparation is roughly as follows.

1. Nenshō (ages 3-4)

   Starting to consider

   The time when the family discusses whether to consider ojuken. Attendance at school information sessions and trial classes at ojuken cram schools increases. Among families aiming for highly competitive schools, some start cram school in the autumn of nenshō. Most families spend this time establishing 'picture books, outdoor play, and daily routines'.

2. First half of nenchū (ages 4-5)

   Gathering information and building foundations

   Listing candidate schools, comparing cram schools, and introducing basic learning at home such as 'remembering a story' and 'seasonal general knowledge'. A time to establish daily routines (getting ready in the morning, folding clothes after taking them off, using chopsticks).

3. Autumn of nenchū (age 5)

   Peak time for joining cram school

   The time when the largest number of families join a cram school. Attendance 1-2 times a week, monthly fees of ¥50,000-100,000. Home study (paper work, fine motor skills) becomes part of daily life. Participation in mock exams begins. Attendance at information sessions for target schools gets fully under way.

4. Spring of nenchō (age 6)

   Narrowing down target schools

   Many families increase cram school attendance to 2-3 times a week. Classes tailored to specific target schools begin. Families start drafting application documents (family report, statement of reasons for applying). Preparation for the interview with both parents begins.

5. Summer of nenchō (age 6)

   Summer courses and the final push

   Cram school summer courses (attending every day), and mock exams increase to 2-3 times a month. Final copies of application forms, practice for the interview with both parents. Family life is organized around the exams, and the physical and mental burden on both child and parents is at its greatest.

6. Autumn of nenchō (age 6)

   The actual exams

   Exams take place in September-November (August-September in the Kansai area, October-November in the Tokyo area, November-December for national schools). Many families take exams at 3-10 schools in total, from first choice to backup schools. Results are announced from the day after the exam to a few days later.

This standard flow follows the cram-school industry’s design of “competing over a little more than a year, from autumn of nenchū to autumn of nenchō”. “If you don’t start in nenshō, you won’t make it in time” applies only to some highly competitive schools; for local private schools and national schools, in most cases preparation starting in the second half of nenchū is enough. It is important not to confuse cram schools’ sales messages with your family’s actual options.

Types of ojuken cram schools

The Tokyo and Kansai areas have several ojuken cram schools with long histories. Their main characteristics can be sorted as follows.

The basic way to choose a cram school is by fit with your target schools, commuting distance, class size, and fit with the instructors. “A cram school with many successful applicants = a cram school that suits my child” is not necessarily true; even at a major cram school strong in highly competitive schools, if it does not suit your child’s temperament, attending itself becomes painful. The approach least likely to leave regrets is to take trial classes at several cram schools and check whether your child seems able to attend and whether the parents’ support arrangements are manageable before deciding.

Costs: over ¥1,000,000 a year is standard

The cost of ojuken varies widely depending on the family’s choices (number of target schools, choice of cram school, frequency of mock exams, whether to use a private tutor), but the rough scale is as follows.

• Ojuken cram school monthly fees: ¥50,000-150,000 a month (classes for highly competitive schools can be in the ¥100,000-150,000 range)
• Summer, spring, and winter courses: ¥100,000-300,000 per course (in some cases ¥300,000-500,000 for the summer of nenchō)
• Mock exams: ¥10,000-30,000 each; in nenchō, 1-3 a month
• Private tutor (optional): ¥50,000-200,000 a month (used when aiming for highly competitive schools or to strengthen weak areas)
• Exam fees: ¥20,000-30,000 per school; ¥150,000-300,000 for exams at 5-10 schools
• Application fees, photos, and outfits for the parents’ interview: ¥50,000-150,000
• Enrollment fee after admission: ¥200,000-300,000 (if accepted by several schools, a certain amount may be charged even by schools whose places you decline)
• Uniforms and school supplies: ¥100,000-200,000

Added together, many families spend ¥1,000,000-2,500,000 over the single year of nenchō, and families who start cram school in nenshō or nenchū add a further 2-3 years of cram school fees. After admission, too, annual education expenses at a private elementary school are about ¥1,828,000 (MEXT Survey of Children’s Learning Expenses 2024), or about ¥11,000,000 over six years. If the child continues at private schools through junior high, high school, and university, the total commitment exceeds ¥15,000,000-25,000,000.

This is a long-term commitment for the household budget. If you have younger children, the burden multiplies with each child. At the early stage of considering ojuken, it is reassuring to run a simulation of “whether the household budget can manage the 16 years after admission without strain”.

“Parenting ability” is also tested: applications, interviews, and behavioral observation

What sets elementary school entrance exams far apart from junior high school exams and later is that the family (mainly both parents) is tested even more than the child’s own exam.

• Application forms (family report, statement of reasons for applying): reasons for applying, the family’s educational policy, the child’s strengths, upbringing at home, family composition, occupations, and educational backgrounds. In many cases they must be handwritten with no rewriting allowed, and several sheets must be completed for each school
• Interview with both parents present: reasons for applying, what you value in child-rearing, episodes about upbringing, how the couple divides roles, how the family spends days off, and so on. Both the father and the mother are asked questions
• Child interview: an interview with the child, but conversations, upbringing, and experiences at home come through
• Behavioral observation: whether the child can cooperate with other children, follow instructions, and explain things in their own words. This, too, reflects experience accumulated at home

In other words, elementary school entrance exams are designed as “an effort by the whole family”. Cram schools provide exam preparation techniques, but the content of the application, the answers in the interview, and the child’s everyday behavior are areas that only the family can nurture. This structure is behind the saying that ‘ojuken is the parents’ exam’.

Don’t overlook the burden on your child

The ojuken preparation period coincides with nenchū and nenchō, ages when children would normally spend much of their time on outdoor play, free play, picture books, and family time.

• Cram school attendance 2-3 days a week (in some cases including travel of 30-60 minutes each way)
• Home study on weekdays (paper work 15-30 minutes, fine motor skills 15 minutes, and so on)
• Mock exams 1-3 times a month (taking up half a day)
• Summer courses in the summer of nenchō (every day)
• Accumulating experiences of ‘nervousness’ and ‘things not going well’ in mock exams and the real exams

This is not an argument against ojuken. It is about the importance of your family regularly checking “whether ojuken preparation has become so intense that it sacrifices your child’s stamina, sleep, free play, and family time”. Are you noticing and responding to your child’s signals, such as “Say it again” or “I don’t want to”? Are you scolding your child over mock exam results? Is the preparation period itself becoming a time that damages your child’s self-esteem? This is an important perspective that comes before passing or failing.

How to think about not passing

Something easily overlooked in elementary school entrance exams is “preparing for the case of not passing”.

• Not passing for your first-choice school is no one’s fault, neither the family’s nor the child’s
• “Going to a public elementary school” is shared within the family as an option from the start
• You have words ready so that your child does not feel “not passing = I failed”
• The experience of not passing does not damage your child’s self-esteem and confidence for a long time
• The couple does not look for ‘whose fault it was’

About 98% of elementary school children in Japan attend public elementary schools, and many of them grow up happily and freely. The private and national elementary schools aimed for in ojuken are a minority option of about 2%. Agreeing within the family that “going to a public school is not the result of failing but an option respected from the start” is important preparation for protecting the mental health of your child and family.

Particular care is needed with elementary schools attached to national universities. As also noted in the National Institute for Educational Policy Research’s National Institute for Educational Policy Research (2020)“Study on Admission Selection at Elementary Schools Attached to National Universities”, many national schools use a selection method that combines an academic test with a ‘lottery’, making it an area where luck plays a large part and the amount of preparation is not necessarily proportional to the result. Understanding as a family from the start that this structure makes “we worked hard but didn’t get in” likely will soften the shock of not passing.

Respect the choice “not to take the exams” equally

In the course of considering ojuken, quite a few families conclude after discussion that “we won’t take the exams”. This is not “running away” or “giving up” but an equal choice based on the family’s values.

• You want your child to spend six years at the local public elementary school, connected with the local community
• You want a short commute so your child has free time after school, extracurricular activities, and family time
• You want your child to spend the ojuken preparation period (nenchū, nenchō) on outdoor play, free play, and family time
• You want to put education money toward junior high school entrance exams, university, study abroad, or other activities
• There is a possibility of moving or job transfer, and a local school offers more flexibility
• Your child’s temperament suits a large, lively, community-based environment

All of these are reasons that can be supported by research and practice. “More families are taking the exams, so if we don’t, we’ll fall behind” applies only to parts of the Tokyo and Kansai areas; looking nationwide, about 98% of families choose public elementary schools, and many children grow up happily and freely there. That is the fact. Taking or not taking the exams is not ‘winning or losing’ a race but ‘an expression of each family’s values’.

Dialogue: where should we start?

Dialogue: how much paper learning?

Points to consider when actually thinking it through

Based on the research and the situation on the ground, here are points for your family to consider.

1. Start with school information sessions (before cram schools)

If you start with cram school trial classes, decisions tend to move at the cram school’s sales pace. If you first go to information sessions at 2-3 schools, what you want from a school becomes clear through comparison. Concrete impressions such as “this school’s character seems to suit us”, “this commute is impossible”, or “this group of parents…” form your family’s criteria for deciding.

2. Put “your family’s values” into words

The core meaning of a private elementary school lies in “being able to put the educational, cultural, and religious values your family wants to prioritize into practice through six years of school life”.

• Do you want to pass on a particular religion or traditional culture to your child?
• Do you want a highly homogeneous parent community, or do you want to raise your child among diverse family backgrounds?
• Do you want to avoid junior high school entrance exams, or take on the challenge of junior high school exams?
• Do you want a small, calm environment, or a large, lively one?

If you have clear answers to these and there is a school in your area that matches them, considering ojuken makes good sense. Conversely, if the main motive is “to raise academic ability” or “because everyone around us is doing it”, it is an area worth stopping to think about.

3. Put your child’s temperament and stamina at the center

Look at your child’s temperament.

• Can your child generally respond calmly to adults’ instructions?
• Are there many situations in which your child can play cooperatively with other children?
• Does your child have age-appropriate time for concentrating on a task?
• Does your child avoid showing extremely strong anxiety toward unfamiliar adults or places?
• Does your child have the stamina to maintain health, sleep, and play over a preparation period of a little more than a year?

These are less about “whether your child suits ojuken” and more about checking “whether your child can bear the load of the ojuken format without strain”. Depending on the child’s temperament, ojuken can become either a free and positive experience or a painful one.

4. Make a long-term household financial plan

At the early stage of considering ojuken, we recommend making a 16-year household budget simulation once.

• Preparation costs in nenchū and nenchō: ¥1,000,000-2,500,000
• Tuition for six years at a private elementary school: about ¥11,000,000
• Continuing to private junior high school, high school, and university: total over ¥15,000,000-25,000,000
• Can you secure the same level of education spending for siblings?
• Is it compatible with university and study-abroad costs?
• Is it compatible with the parents’ retirement savings?

Rather than “we’ll manage for six years”, the decision least likely to leave regrets is to look at “whether the household budget is sustainable over a 16-year span”.

5. Share “what if we don’t pass” within the family from the start

Before starting ojuken, share with the whole family (father, mother, and if possible the child too, in a way suited to their age) that “if we don’t pass, we’ll go to the public elementary school. That is a respected choice and no one’s fault”. Whether or not you have this makes a big difference to the damage to the family if your child does not pass. Also understand from the start that national schools in particular have a strong lottery element, so effort and results are not proportional.

6. Respect “not taking the exams” equally

If, after considering it, you arrive at “we won’t take the exams”, that is an equal choice. About 98% of families in Japan choose public elementary schools, and many children grow up happily and freely there. It is an area where you can decide with confidence that “choosing a public school = a standard, sound choice”.

Closing dialogue

Research details

Primary sources

MixedBenesse Educational Research and Development Institute2022私立小学校に関する調査 [Survey on Private Elementary Schools]

Study design: Questionnaire survey of parents of children attending private elementary schools nationwide

Content: • Distribution of reasons for choosing a private elementary school (agreement with the educational policy, integrated education, small class sizes, religious education, etc.) • Timing of cram school attendance during preparation (mainly autumn of nenchū to autumn of nenchō), and the content and time of home study • Actual family involvement in the parents’ interview and preparing application forms • Satisfaction with and issues in school life after admission

Significance: One of the few sources that allows the realities of families choosing private elementary schools in Japan to be grasped on the basis of a large-scale survey. Basic material for understanding the standard flow of ojuken preparation and the structure of motives for choosing a private elementary school.

Limitations: A survey by a private research organization, so respondent bias (characteristics of participating families) is possible. Comparison with families who did not choose a private elementary school is not the main purpose of this survey.

StrongMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)2024令和6年度 学校基本調査(確定値) [FY2024 School Basic Survey (final figures)]

Official document / public statistics: A core statistical survey of schools, pupils and students, and teaching staff nationwide, conducted by MEXT every year as of May 1 (final figures published December 18, 2024)

Content: • Total elementary school pupils: about 5.94 million (a new record low) • Pupils at private elementary schools: about 80,000 (about 1.3% of the total) • Pupils at national elementary schools: about 36,000 (about 0.6% of the total) • The remaining roughly 98% attend public elementary schools • Private and national elementary schools are concentrated in the Tokyo and Kansai areas; in other regions the options barely exist

Significance: Supports the fact that “the private and national elementary schools aimed for in ojuken are, nationwide, a minority option of about 2%”. The uneven regional distribution of options can also be read from these statistics.

MixedGakken Educational Research Institute2023小学校受験の動向に関する調査 [Survey on Trends in Elementary School Entrance Exams]

Study design: Questionnaire survey of families nationwide (mainly in the Tokyo and Kansai areas) who have taken or are preparing for elementary school entrance exams

Content: • Timing of ojuken cram school attendance (mainly autumn of nenchū to autumn of nenchō; from nenshō for those aiming at highly competitive schools) • Distribution of annual costs of exam preparation (¥1,000,000-2,500,000 is typical in nenchō) • Number of schools applied to (3-10 in total from first choice to backup schools is standard) • Actual preparation for the parents’ interview, preparing application forms, and home study • Families’ impressions after passing or not passing

Significance: A source that allows the standard flow and cost of ojuken preparation to be grasped on the basis of an industry survey. Supplementary material for understanding trends in the cram-school industry.

Limitations: The survey body is an organization connected to the education industry, so a conflict of interest in the survey design is not zero. Note that it is not an independent academic survey.

StrongHsin, A., & Xie, Y.2014Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), pp. 8416-8421

Study design: A study analyzing the gap in academic achievement between Asian American and white children, using two large longitudinal surveys in the US (ECLS-K, ELS)

Participants: About 16,000 US children and students

Main results: • Asian American children have higher academic achievement than white children • This gap is barely explained by cognitive ability (IQ, aptitude in test scores) and is largely explained by differences in ‘effort’ and ‘attitude toward work’ (statistically significant, p<0.05) • Differences in effort and attitude toward work are strongly related to the family’s cultural values (an attitude that values education) • A family environment that nurtures ‘the habit of effort’ predicts long-term academic achievement better than the amount of early paper learning itself

Limitations: An analysis based on US data; there are contextual differences in applying it directly to the Japanese early childhood education context. It is a comparative study between ethnic groups, and further research is needed on individual differences within families.

StrongHeckman, J. J., Pinto, R., & Savelyev, P.2013American Economic Review, 103(6), pp. 2052-2086

Study design: An analysis of the mechanisms of intervention effects, using more than 40 years of follow-up data from the US Perry Preschool Program (a high-quality preschool education program that intervened with 3- to 4-year-olds from low-income families in 1962-1967)

Participants: About 120 children from low-income families (randomly assigned to intervention and control groups)

Main results: • The Perry Preschool Program intervention showed long-term positive effects on participants’ adult academic achievement, income, employment, health, and crime rates • The mechanism of these long-term effects is explained not by improvement in cognitive ability (IQ, academic tests) but by improvement in non-cognitive skills (self-control, persistence, interpersonal skills) (statistically significant, p<0.05) • The rise in IQ was present immediately after the intervention but disappeared around age 10 (fade-out). The long-term effects persisted via non-cognitive skills • The essential value of early academic intervention lies not in an early boost to cognitive ability but in the development of non-cognitive skills

Limitations: A follow-up study of a specific US intervention program, with a small sample of about 120. Applying it directly to the Japanese early childhood education context requires attention to differences in cultural and institutional background. However, the long-term importance of non-cognitive skills has been repeatedly replicated in later research in countries around the world.

MixedNational Institute for Educational Policy Research2020国立大学附属小学校の入学者選抜に関する研究 [Study on Admission Selection at Elementary Schools Attached to National Universities]

Study design: Institutional analysis and case studies of admission selection methods at elementary schools attached to national universities nationwide (71 schools)

Content: • Many elementary schools attached to national universities use a selection method that combines academic testing (paper test, behavioral observation, physical activity, interview) with a ‘lottery’ • Incorporating a lottery into the selection process is a design to secure diversity in the student body as an educational research institution • Commuting-area restrictions are in place, so applying from a wide area is structurally impossible • A structure in which the amount of preparation and the result are not necessarily proportional, creating a distinctive psychological burden for parents and applicants

Significance: A source that institutionally summarizes the distinctive nature of selection at elementary schools attached to national universities (the existence of a lottery element). Material for families to understand the structure in which “we worked hard but didn’t get in” is likely to happen.

Limitations: Mainly institutional analysis; further research is needed on the long-term effects of the lottery method on children and families.