13-05-2025
VOX POPULI: Should more schools stop handing out report cards?
A homeroom teacher hands out report cards at the end of the closing ceremony for an elementary school's second term in Osaka's Sumiyoshi Ward in 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
If schools decided to do away with report cards, what would be the reactions of the following manga characters, all of whom are elementary school students?
I'm pretty sure Katsuo Isono from "Sazae-san" would be overjoyed.
How about Nobita Nobi? He'd probably be indifferent since he's quite easy-going by nature anyway, not to mention that his best pal Doraemon always has his back.
In contrast, Chibi Maruko-chan may well receive the news with suspicion and her characteristically cynical frown.
The municipal board of education of Mino, Gifu Prefecture, announced on May 2 that there will be no more report cards for first- and second-year students at the city's elementary schools.
Reportedly, this decision was made in response to the 'request' from some quarters that younger schoolkids be 'allowed to grow up more freely.'
The board also explained that instead of giving out report cards, the schools will hold in-person meetings with the children's parents or guardians to let them know how the youngsters are doing in class.
There are pros and cons to this approach, of course. At an elementary school in Kanagawa Prefecture that decided to eliminate report cards five years ago, one concern that was said to have been voiced was, '(Without report cards), we can't tell how our kids are performing.'
There is competition everywhere in society. There apparently are parents—and also schoolchildren themselves—who want to know where they rank in their classes, even though they don't necessarily feel the need to be evaluated on an 'absolute scale.'
Kazuya Kokubu, who was the principal of the Kanagawa school at the time, explained the reason for doing away with report cards: 'Report cards rank children in order.'
He questioned its appropriateness in public education, and thought that eliminating report cards would free up time for teachers, so they could spend more time with their students.
The evaluator is human, and so, too, is the evaluated. It's wonderful to be a fast runner, or know more kanji than anyone else or be a good singer. But each such forte is only one aspect of the person who is being evaluated.
A society where one is judged by just one yardstick—whether one can or cannot—is hardly a comfortable place to be in.
Recalling my own childhood, I know I wasn't like Katsuo, but I have no recollection whatsoever of how I dealt with report cards.
In the one scene I remember vividly, I am being taken to task thoroughly by my class master for misbehaving.
For some strange reason, this has remained a precious memory, and I still keep it in my 'pocket of memories.'
—The Asahi Shimbun, May 13
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
