If your child is entering the third year of junior high school (中学3年生) in Japan, you will start hearing one word everywhere: juken (受験). It comes up in school meetings, juku (cram school) schedules, casual parent conversations, and eventually at home, whether your child brings it up or not.
Japanese high school entrance exams are not just an academic milestone. It’s a system, a process, and for many families, a year-long experience that reshapes daily life. As someone who prefers to let my child stand on her two feet and make decisions without being a helicopter parent, I was not prepared for the constant “Have you picked a high school yet?” every time I met her friends’ parents passing the street. There I was, beginning to think I was the one entering high school all over again.
Unlike education systems where high school placement is automatic or based on zoning, high school in Japan must be applied for, evaluated, and earned – and parents are part of that process from the very beginning.
At its simplest, juken means “entrance examination.” In reality, it refers to the entire period leading up to high school admission – not just the exam day itself. The system is quite different from other countries, where the transition from junior high to high school was as simple as graduating and going up a level from Grade 9 to Grade 10. You don’t need to choose schools based on your academic level and study like there’s no tomorrow for an entrance exam you have one shot of passing (more on this later).
Juken includes:
Does it sound like something a high school graduate would do when planning to enter university? Yes, it does, but make it three years earlier. For many students, this is their first experience with a high-stakes academic system. For parents, it’s often their first time navigating a process that is structured, opaque, and deadline-driven.
Juken does not begin with an exam announcement. A jukensei, or a student preparing for entrance exams, begins their journey quietly at the start of the third year of junior high school. Teachers begin framing conversations differently. Grades are discussed not just as performance, but as indicators. Parents are called in for individual meetings, sometimes more than once, to discuss academic standing, realistic options, and possible high school paths.
This is often when families realize that:
It can feel abrupt, especially for families unfamiliar with the system. But this is what this guide is all about. Let’s start with hensachi.
As juken begins in earnest, many families are introduced to a term that quickly becomes a household staple: hensachi (偏差値). Roughly translated, hensachi is a deviation score used to measure a student’s academic standing relative to others, rather than by raw test scores alone.
Unlike percentage grades, hensachi is calculated based on standardized testing results and reflects how a student compares to the overall test-taking population. A higher hensachi indicates stronger relative performance, while a lower hensachi reflects greater academic distance from the average. In practice, this creates a ranking system that allows schools to estimate admission likelihood more predictably.
Each high school in Japan – public and private – has its own target hensachi range. These ranges are not always officially published by the schools themselves but are widely referenced through mock exams, juku materials, and guidance counselors. During parent-teacher meetings, discussions often shift from “Which school do you like?” to “Which schools are realistic given your current hensachi?”
Elite schools in Tokyo have a hensachi of 70-75 or higher. Meanwhile, the lowest hensachi often fall into the 30-40 range. This is where the pressure often intensifies. Families begin to understand that effort alone is not always enough to expand options late in the process. Schools are grouped into tiers, and application strategies are built around minimizing risk. This is where the question of “Should my child go for a high hensachi school but risk lagging behind her peers the next three years?” or “Better to go for a school that’s a bit lower than her hensachi and excel in high school?” comes into play.
It’s important to note that hensachi is not a judgment of a child’s potential or worth. It’s a snapshot of academic positioning at a specific moment in time, used to guide placement within a highly standardized system. Understanding how hensachi works helps families make informed, realistic choices – and reduces confusion when certain schools are quietly taken off the table during juken season.
At its core, hensachi is a number that shows how a student performs compared to other students, not how many questions they got right. It’s calculated using standardized test results, most commonly from mock exams taken during juken seasons, often through juku or prefecture-wide monthly testing.
The average score is set at 50. Scores above 50 mean above-average performance, while scores below 50 mean below-average performance. The further a student’s score is from the average, the higher or lower their hensachi becomes.
While hensachi itself is based on standardized test results, many private high schools use their own internal evaluation systems. These may add bonus points for certifications like EIKEN, strong school records, or interviews, effectively raising a student’s ‘school-specific’ score without changing their national hensachi. Public schools are far more rigid and standardized, basing decisions on entrance exam scores and report cards. And with that, let’s tackle public and private high schools.
One of the biggest sources of stress during juken is understanding the difference between public and private high school admissions.
Public high schools:
Public high schools often feel all-or-nothing, which amplifies pressure on both students and parents.
Private high schools:
Needless to say, private high schools are not simply backups. For many families, they are strategic or preferred choices, especially if the schools offer a curriculum fitting to your child’s chosen career.
Now that a distinction between private and public high schools has been made, it’s time for school fairs, information sessions, and open campus events. The summer of third year junior high school is a busy one. You can start with a school fair, often held at an arena/stadium, as it holds hundreds of schools. Come with a bag as each booth would hand out brochures, pamphlets, and freebies. From there, you can screen schools and attend their information sessions and open campus events.
These events serve several purposes, like helping families understand school culture and curriculum, and allowing schools to assess student and parent interest. In some cases, attendance is required for recommendation routes. Beyond information gathering, these events signal seriousness. Showing up, listening, and asking questions can matter more than families initially realize. For example, we attended an information session at a particular high school that we were seriously considering, only to realize it was a sister school with a way better campus and curriculum.
Juken season comes with a surprising amount of paperwork. This may include:
Deadlines are strict and often non-negotiable. Many families rely on calendars, checklists, or folders just to stay organized. This administrative load often falls largely on parents, even though the exams are for their child.
Juken is uniquely intense because it combines academic evaluation, cultural expectations, family involvement, and perceived finality. Students may face ranking comparisons, quiet peer pressure, and the fear of disappointing others or themselves. Parents often struggle with how much to intervene. Too much pressure can overwhelm and cause burnout, while too little structure can increase anxiety. Finding balance is one of the hardest parts of the process.
Even though there are alternative paths and future options, juken often feels like a defining moment. Recognizing this emotional weight helps parents respond with patience rather than urgency.
There is no perfect formula because each child and situation is different, but what often keeps students steady includes: consistent routines, protected sleep and meals, reassurance that effort matters more than result,s and clear signals that one exam does not define their future.
Children are highly sensitive to parental stress. By staying calm and grounded, even when the system feels overwhelming, directly supports your child. Because the quiet truth is that juken is not meant to be the end of the story. There are multiple paths forward, even if the first plan changes (just like us discovering an entire new school at the last minute). Transfers, alternative programs, private options, and future adjustments exist. What lasts longer than any exam result is how your child grows this year. Feeling supported, trusted, and understood matters more than a single outcome.
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