Junior high, year 3 (中学3年)
The third year of junior high is the high-school entry year: this year's 内申 (report-card marks), the 三者面談 (meeting of teacher, student and parent) that settles which schools, the recommendation round and then the general exam. For the child it is a year with a fixed deadline, mock exams most months and choices made, for the first time, partly on their own.
Age 14–15
What school expects this year
Tokyo public high schools, April 2027 entry: how report-card points and the exam add up
都立高校入試の調査書点（内申）と学力検査の比率（令和9年度）
The 内申 Tokyo reads is this year's subject grades as they stand in the winter, in every subject, turned into points that join the exam and the English speaking test.
Ask the teacher: Where does my child stand in each subject this term, and what would still move a grade?
The national academic test: who sits it in 2026, and what the score is for
令和8年度 全国学力・学習状況調査
Third years sit the national test again, in Japanese, maths and English, and as in grade 6 the result is for teaching, not for high-school entry.
Body and mind this year
"How to send an SOS": what schools teach, and the lines a child or parent can call
SOSの出し方に関する教育と、子供・保護者の相談窓口
The entry year puts a deadline on every week, and the article lists the lines a teenager can call without telling anyone first.
At home: Your child cannot sleep before tests, snaps at small things, or says nothing they do matters.
Ask the teacher: Is my child coping this term, and can they see the school counsellor?
Sleep and the daily rhythm by age: the national sleep guide and the 早寝早起き朝ごはん campaign
こどもの睡眠時間の目安と「早寝早起き朝ごはん」
Exam study and late juku push sleep down in the year it matters most, and the article gives the national guide's hours for a teenager.
At home: Your child studies past midnight most nights, or falls asleep over books in the evening.
If your child came from abroad
Tokyo public high schools: the April 2027 selection for students who arrived in Japan recently
在京外国人生徒等対象の入学者選抜（令和9年度 都立高校）
Some Tokyo public high schools run a separate selection for students who arrived in Japan recently, with a composition and an interview in Japanese or English.
Ask the teacher: Does my child qualify for the selection for students who arrived recently, and will you help with the papers?
Kanagawa's April 2027 selection for foreign nationals who have been in Japan six years or less
神奈川県公立高校の在県外国人等特別募集（令和9年度）
Kanagawa runs its own track at a fixed list of public high schools for foreign nationals who have been in Japan a limited time, with its own papers and dates.
This year's decisions
Tokyo public high schools, April 2027: the February general exam, step by step
都立高校の学力検査に基づく選抜（令和9年度・第一次募集）
Most Tokyo public high-school places are filled by a single written exam in the winter, and your child applies to only one public school in that round.
Tokyo public high schools, April 2027 entry: the January recommendation round
都立高校の推薦に基づく選抜（令和9年度）
Part of each Tokyo public high school's places is filled earlier, by recommendation, judged on the report, an interview and other tasks the school sets.
Ask the teacher: Would the school support my child for a recommendation, and which schools would you suggest?
Tokyo private high schools: first-choice recommendation, 併願優遇, and the December consultation
東京の私立高校入試 推薦入試・併願優遇・入試相談
Tokyo private high schools admit by recommendation or general exam, and 併願優遇 (a back-up place for students whose first choice is public) depends on a winter consultation between the junior high and the private school, which is never a promise.
Ask the teacher: Will you hold the private-school consultation for us, and which schools fit my child's marks?
Part-time high school, correspondence, and the high-school equivalency exam
定時制・通信制・高等学校卒業程度認定試験
Part-time and correspondence high schools lead to the same diploma as a full-time school, and they are a real choice for a student the usual route does not suit.
How the system works this year
Junior high in Tokyo: regular tests, the report card, clubs, and the three-way meeting
中学校の定期考査・評定・部活動・三者面談
The 三者面談 brings the homeroom teacher, your child and you together to look at marks, school life and which high schools to apply to.
Ask the teacher: Based on my child's marks, which schools should we consider, and what is the next deadline?
High-school tuition support has to be applied for, and non-Japanese students file on paper
高等学校等就学支援金の申請
High-school tuition support is paid only if you apply after entry, and a student who is not a Japanese national files on paper, so have the residence documents ready.