A clear next step for your child's 中学受験中学受験までの道のり
With juku or at home: a plan from your child's stage to the exam, practice to find the gaps, and guidance for the decisions ahead.
A companion for your family's entrance-exam journey
Know what to do next. In one place.
24/7
Study, record progress and ask questions in the evenings, at weekends, whenever your family has time.
One place
Plan, practise, reflect and prepare for applications. Spend less effort finding the next step.
A manageable ongoing cost
Price and what's included →Preview the road free. Save a goal to try a week of the family plan.
- 1Set the goal
- 2Do this week's work
- 3Check the evidence
- 4Adjust the next step
For example: grade 5, stuck on ratios
Choose how your family studies
A concrete next action for the parent
- 1Read a worked example and draw the relationship
- 2Practise the unit and identify why an answer went wrong
- 3Try again the next day; check transfer with an external mock
- The goal firstFive kinds of school, or “not decided yet”. The road differs for each.
- This week, in fullWhat to do, how, and which checkpoint it moves. Free.
- Steered when it slipsMiss a checkpoint and the companion says what to change, or which goal is in reach.
The road at a glance
Six stages from 年中 to the exam, in the words of our road files. The same foundations hold for every goal until grade 2; from grade 3 the road follows the goal.
Foundations年中 (age 4–5) to 年長 (age 5–6)
年中 and 年長 are the two years that build the base for elementary school and for 中学受験: 15–20 minutes a day at home, plus experiences in everyday life. Rather than racing ahead, secure three things by the end of 年長: number sense, reading ひらがな, and the habit of sitting down to work. What you do now is almost the same whatever type of school you aim for.
Your part: Your job is to sit beside your child at the same time every day and stop while it is still short and fun. Ask rather than teach, and let your child put the answer in their own words. Mark each day done on a calendar and look back together once, at the weekend. In the autumn of 年長 the pre-entry health check, the after-school club application and the decision on a juku for the early grades all land at once, so use the dates on this road to get ahead of them.
Checkpoints: End of 年中: the home-study habit (70% of weekly tasks done); End of 年中: number sense; End of 年中: words and ひらがな; 年長 November: 全国統一小学生テスト (record only); End of 年長: 20 minutes on one task; End of 年長: making and breaking 10 instantly; End of 年長: reads ひらがな fluently
Habit and fluencyGrade 1 to Grade 2
Grades 1 and 2 are the two years that make daily home study ordinary. Ten minutes of calculation and fifteen of reading every day, with the times tables (九九) fluent by the end of grade 2. The 全国統一小学生テスト twice a year gives an outside scale, and in November of grade 2 you set the goal (or confirm it).
Your part: Fix the order and the time: homework, then calculation, then reading. Mark the work the same day. Don't scold mistakes; look at them together: "How far was it right?" Kanji at the school's pace is enough. Record test results without judging them, and keep an eye on the weekly done rate.
Checkpoints: Grade 1, November: the home-study habit (70% of weekly tasks); Grade 1, November: 全国統一小学生テスト (record only); End of grade 1: calculation and word problems; End of grade 1: the 80 kanji and reading aloud; Grade 2, November: the home-study habit (80% of weekly tasks); Grade 2, November: 全国統一小学生テスト (record only); End of grade 2: times tables and column sums; End of grade 2: 240 kanji and reading volume; End of grade 2: Eiken grade 5 material
Choosing the jukuGrade 3
Grade 3 is the year to choose a juku that fits the goal and to enter it, through its entrance test, at a level that matches the goal. Shortlist in spring, try lessons in summer, sit entrance tests from autumn into winter. Alongside, secure grade-3 maths (division, first decimals and fractions, circles) and reshape family life around the juku week that starts in February. On the Tokyo public combined-school road and the returnee / English-exam road, writing, reading data and English come before choosing a juku.
Your part: Comparing and choosing the juku is your job: decide on travel distance, days and times, cost and how your child reacts. In the six weeks before an entrance test, practise in test format twice a week. From February, rebuild the family timetable for dinner, sleep and homework on juku days.
Checkpoints: Grade 3, September: the home-study habit (80% of weekly tasks); Grade 3, December: grade-3 maths secure; Grade 3, January: kanji and reading; End of grade 3: finish a 300-character essay (public combined school); Grade 3, November: record the 全国統一小学生テスト; Grade 3, November: 全国統一小学生テスト (record only); Grade 3, January: pass the entrance test and get a class; End of grade 3: Eiken grade 4 material
The juku rhythmGrade 4
Grade 4 is the year the juku week becomes a household habit. Run the same cycle every week — lesson, homework, test, corrections — and make calculation and kanji a fixed daily routine. Grade 4 deviation scores swing with whichever units a test covered, so watch whether corrections get finished and the same mistakes become rarer, more than the number itself.
Your part: The parent is not the teacher but the organiser: draw up the week, mark the homework, check that corrections are done, and hold the bedtime. Read each report down to the per-question correct rates and turn it into next week's corrections.
Checkpoints: Grade 4 term 1 habit check; Grade 4 term 2 habit check; Grade 4 term 3 habit check; Entrance maths, grade 4: practice check; Grade 4 Japanese secure; Grade 4 summer test check; Grade 4 winter test check; English: Eiken Grade 3 readiness
The hardest yearGrade 5
Grade 5 is the heaviest year of the junior-high exam road. Maths brings ratio, proportion, speed and similar figures, science brings the calculation-heavy units, and by the end of the year the foundations of almost the whole exam range have been taught once. Review the units where children drop before they arrive, and in the autumn measure the distance to the target school's 80% line.
Your part: Your job is to keep a heavier week running and to spot slips early. Watch correct rates by unit, and go back to a weak unit without waiting for the next test. Visit open sessions and school festivals, and have three to five candidate schools by the autumn.
Checkpoints: Grade 5 term 1 habit check; Grade 5 term 2 habit check; Grade 5 term 3 habit check; Entrance maths, grade 5: practice check; Grade 5 Japanese secure; Grade 5 summer test check; Grade 5 autumn test check (goal review point); Grade 5 winter test check; Grade 5 aptitude-style test: record; English: Eiken Pre-2 readiness
The exam yearGrade 6
Grade 6 is the exam year. Finish reviewing the whole range by the summer, and from September move on to past papers and target-school preparation. Each autumn month, a pass/fail mock test shows the gap to the first choice's 80% line; by December the back-up plan is fixed; then the year runs to plan, from the January warm-up exams through February's exams, results and enrolment steps.
Your part: Your job is strategy, logistics and health. Decide the first choice and back-ups from mock tests and past papers, and put applications, exam days, results and enrolment deadlines on one sheet. In the last two months add nothing new; protect sleep and health.
Checkpoints: Grade 6 term 1 habit check; Grade 6 term 2 habit check; Review complete (entrance-exam maths); Grade 6 April pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 July pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 September pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 October pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 November pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 December pass/fail mock test; Grade 6 September aptitude-style test: record; Grade 6 November aptitude-style test: record (final back-up decision); English: Eiken Grade 2 readiness; Grade 6 entrance maths: practice check
Dates on the road
The dates a 中学受験 family meets, in order, from the official pages and the juku's own pages. Each shows where it comes from and the day we read it.
年長 (age 5–6) to Grade 6
National elementary test, summer round (全国統一小学生テスト, zenkoku tōitsu shōgakusei tesuto)
to (approximate) · test day
The usual yearly pattern: the exact days are published each year.
Source: 【公式】全国統一小学生テスト｜中学受験の四谷大塚 · checked
年長 (age 5–6) to Grade 6
National elementary test, autumn round (全国統一小学生テスト, zenkoku tōitsu shōgakusei tesuto)
to · test day
Source: 2026秋の全国統一テスト 9/9(水)受付開始 全国の小中高生を学力を伸ばし合格するためのテストに無料招待 · checked
年長 (age 5–6)
Juku intake for the new grade 1 (新1年生, optional early juku)
to (approximate)
Source: 小学1・2年生対象 スーパーキッズコース | コース・講座 | 中学受験の進学塾・学習塾なら早稲田アカデミー · checked
Grade 3
Juku intake for grade 4 (新4年生, shin-yonensei)
to (approximate)
The usual yearly pattern: the exact days are published each year.
Source: 新4年の入塾テスト日程2026｜SAPIX・四谷大塚・日能研・早稲アカ · checked
Grade 5 to Grade 6
School open days and info sessions (学校説明会, setsumeikai)
to (approximate)
The usual yearly pattern: the exact days are published each year.
Source: 合同相談会の歩き方 - 東京私学ドットコム 中学校 | 一般財団法人 東京私立中学高等学校協会 · checked
Grade 6
Tokyo public combined junior-senior high schools (都立中高一貫校, aptitude test)
to · test day
Source: 令和９年度東京都立中等教育学校及び東京都立中学校入学者決定の日程等 · checked
Grade 6
Junior-high applications (出願, shutsugan)
to (approximate)
The usual yearly pattern: the exact days are published each year.
Source: 知っておきたい入試のこと～入試に関する基礎知識～ · checked
Grade 6
Junior-high entrance exams (中学受験 本番, chūgaku juken)
to
Source: 知っておきたい入試のこと～入試に関する基礎知識～ · checked
What the companion keeps doing after the first week
The road is long: six to seven years from 年中. The companion carries it week by week so you never have to work out what comes next.
New instructions every week.
Each Monday, what to do with your child that week, how, and which checkpoint it moves, set to your child's stage.
Every checkpoint, measured.
Record a result (typed, or a photo of the 成績表) and see it against the bar, with the test and the day it came from.
Steering when it slips.
Two missed weeks get a shorter week; a skill below target gets targeted practice; a gap that holds gets an honest choice of goal the child can reach.
A Monday summary.
Done last week, next week, and the distance to the next checkpoint, in one email.
The dates, on time.
全国統一小学生テスト, juku entrance tests, 説明会 and applications on your timeline, with a reminder before each.
Practice that fits the stage.
Our 算数 and 国語 courses from 年中, with readiness that feeds the checkpoints.
Free, always: this preview, the whole road, every date and its source, and the first week of instructions. From week two, the weekly instructions, checkpoints and steering are part of the Companion Pass.
Keep the weekly support with the pass
Companion Pass
All three subjects at every level, mock tests, marked writing and unlimited questions.
- This week's tasks, every Monday, set to your child's stage
- Every checkpoint judged against the school's 80% line
- Steering when it slips, and a goal in reach if the gap holds
- Every course: 英検, math (算数) and Japanese (国語), at every level
- Unlimited questions to the companion
Cancel any time from Settings.
Full refund within 7 days of your first payment, no questions asked.
Know what you're starting
Practise maths, Japanese and Eiken in the app. Full science and social studies courses, individual marking of long written answers and the full aptitude-test syllabus are not included. Add entrance-exam materials and schools' published papers for those areas, then check progress with mocks and past papers. Confirm school requirements and dates with official announcements.
Study suggestions and question answers use AI. Admission is not promised. Use in-app practice evidence together with school-specific mocks and past papers.
Questions parents ask
- When should preparation for 中学受験 start?
- The main juku course starts in February of grade 3, as the new grade 4. The years before it build what that course assumes: a child who sits at a desk every day, calculates and reads with ease, and has seen a test. This road starts at 年中 to use those years well, not to start juku early.
- What should a child in 年長 do to prepare?
- A short, fixed time at a desk every day: number sense (making 10, counting to 100), reading ひらがな books, and puzzles and mazes. Read aloud together every day. The free 全国統一小学生テスト accepts 年長 children, a first outside benchmark. The road gives the week's instructions in full.
- Is juku from grade 1 necessary?
- No. It is optional. Juku start their school year in February, so a 年長 child can join a grade-1 course after a free entrance test taken over the winter. The companion says plainly when it is worth it for your goal and when the home habit is enough.
- What if my child falls behind?
- The companion steers. More of the right practice first; if the gap holds over two checkpoints, it offers a choice: hold the goal with what has to change, or a goal the child can reach, with that goal's bar. It never hides the gap.
Sources
Every date on this page comes from these pages. The road's instructions and checkpoints carry their own source, or say when they are our judgement.
Source: 【公式】全国統一小学生テスト｜中学受験の四谷大塚
checkedSource: 2026秋の全国統一テスト 9/9(水)受付開始 全国の小中高生を学力を伸ばし合格するためのテストに無料招待
checkedSource: 小学1・2年生対象 スーパーキッズコース | コース・講座 | 中学受験の進学塾・学習塾なら早稲田アカデミー
checkedSource: 入塾テスト | 中学受験・高校受験・大学受験 | 進学塾・学習塾なら早稲田アカデミー
checkedSource: 新4年の入塾テスト日程2026｜SAPIX・四谷大塚・日能研・早稲アカ
checkedSource: 合同相談会の歩き方 - 東京私学ドットコム 中学校 | 一般財団法人 東京私立中学高等学校協会
checkedSource: 令和９年度東京都立中等教育学校及び東京都立中学校入学者決定の日程等
checkedSource: 知っておきたい入試のこと～入試に関する基礎知識～
checked