Grade 6 (小学6年)

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

Grade 6 sits the 全国学力・学習状況調査 (national academic test) in Japanese and maths, and the result is for the school and the board to improve teaching, not for any entrance.

Ask the teacher: When will we see my child's national test result, and what does it show?

Junior high, year by year: the subjects, the hours, and how the marks are made

中学校の学年別の教科・標準授業時数と評価のしくみ

Junior high brings a teacher for each subject, longer days, regular tests, and marks on a scale that later count toward high school.

"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

Exams, the last months with old friends and a new school ahead can pile up in grade 6, and the article lists who a child or a parent can call when it gets too much.

At home: Your child gets stomach aches or headaches before tests or juku, or stops enjoying things they used to.

Ask the teacher: Does my child seem stressed or tired at school this term?

What each age is working on: the ministry's stages from infancy to high school

子どもの発達段階ごとの特徴と重視すべき課題（文部科学省）

At the end of elementary school children start to hold their own view against adults', and the ministry's paper moves toward the inner world of adolescence.

At home: Your child answers 'nothing' to every question about school, or argues every rule at home.

Phones, games and social media by age: what the national survey shows and what schools allow

年齢別のスマホ・ゲーム・SNS（青少年のインターネット利用環境実態調査と学校の持込みルール）

Many children get their own phone before junior high, so this is the year to set family rules before it arrives; the article shows what the national survey finds and what schools allow.

At home: Your child talks about people they met through a game or app, or asks for money for in-game purchases.

Ask the teacher: Does the class have a lesson on phones and social media before junior high?

Returnee student eligibility for April 2027 junior high exams: five schools' own rules

帰国生・国際生の出願資格は学校ごとに違う（2027年度の5校）

If your child lived abroad, 帰国生 (returnee) and 国際生 (international applicant) entry rules are set by each school, and a child who qualifies at one may not at the next.

Tokyo private junior highs: applications from 10 January, exams from 1 February

東京の私立中学入試 出願は1月10日以降、選抜は2月1日以降

Tokyo private junior highs open applications in the new year and hold exams soon after, on the earliest dates their association sets, so the autumn is for choosing schools.

Exam week: the ticket, the result, the payment, and how to decline

入試当日と合格後：受験票・入学金・辞退・繰り上げ（2027年度の各校要項）

An exam ends in a result, and a yes starts a payment deadline that can close the same evening, while other schools' rounds carry on.

Tokyo public combined junior highs for April 2027: who may apply, and the exam days

令和9年度 都立中高一貫校の応募資格と日程

Tokyo's 都立中高一貫校 (public combined junior and senior highs) hold their own entry with a different kind of test, and the board sets who may apply and when.

The grade-6 'which junior high?' survey: what each answer means for the ward

進路希望調査（小6）と中学校入学の手続き

The school asks which junior high your child will go to, the 進路希望調査 (next-school survey), and each answer starts a different procedure with the ward, some with autumn deadlines.

Ask the teacher: What do I need to do with the ward after I answer the next-school survey?

Papers the elementary school must seal: the report, the transcript, the envelope

小学校に頼む調査書・成績と厳封（慶應義塾湘南藤沢中等部 2027年度帰国生の例）

Some junior highs ask the elementary school to write a report and seal it, and you cannot write or open it yourself, so ask the school early.

Ask the teacher: How much notice do you need to write and seal a report for an application?