ABSTRACT
It is known that Japanese elementary school examination was composed in the early Meiji Era, around the 1870–1880s, under the influences of American school examination. But little has been known about the similarities or the differences of those examinations in both countries hitherto.
Close investigation, including comparison of the school tests’ origins in Japan and the United States, uncovered that early Meiji examination inherits many tools from the samurais’ examination of the feudal ages, e.g., the examination hall’s layout, preparation procedure, and the format for questioning, scoring, marking, and reporting. And those Japanese examinations were mainly given to encourage prudent learners as opposed to making selections, promotions, accreditations, or any other high-stakes decisions.
Even if the Japanese, following the Meiji Era, had imported the examination system including “the purpose of testing” to make such high-stakes decisions, the Japanese did not change their manners of handling examinations. This could have led to examinations in Japanese schools functioning differently from the “intended” purpose of the examination.
