Exams vs Classes

A Test-Crazy Country

We’re not the only ones going nuts over tests. With Japanese students stressing over grueling college entrance exams—a hallmark of their country’s highly standardized  school system—at least 10 percent of high school principals decided this year to secretly drop required courses, typically history and geography, to give students more time to prepare for the tests. But now, Education Ministry officials say, more than 80,000 high school seniors don’t have the right credits to graduate.