The History of Entrance Examinations

1998/03/01

Published in "Juku" 1998, no. 210

For some time after its founding, Keio did not require any particular examinations for admission.
Full-scale entrance examinations were introduced in the mid-Meiji period, after the establishment of the college.
The evolution of the entrance examinations at Keio, the first private comprehensive university in Japan, is also the history of entrance examinations for private universities in our country.
This article will introduce the history of Keio's entrance examinations.

Preparations for the launch of the college began this year. In May, the "Keio Gijuku Shachu no Yakusoku" (The Keio Gijuku Shachu Pledge) was revised. The "Rules for Admission and Withdrawal" stated, "...students shall be placed in an appropriate class after an examination. However, those who do not know the English alphabet at all will be placed in an extracurricular class and are not required to submit a resume or take the examination." This introduced an examination for English class placement after admission.

Financial preparations were put in place.

The college, established this year, was positioned as an "institution of higher education," and thus entrance examinations were subsequently implemented to select those worthy of receiving a higher education.

According to the "Keio University College Regulations," "Those eligible to enter the first year of each department are those who have received a graduation certificate from this school or those who have passed the college entrance examination. However, those who have received a graduation certificate from the school's special course are permitted admission only if they pass examinations in the two subjects of mathematics and English studies." Graduates of the regular course were exempt from the examination, while graduates of the special course were required to take examinations in two subjects: English and mathematics. For general admission applicants, there were nine subjects: Chinese classics, geography, history, physics and chemistry, mathematics, English-to-Japanese translation, Japanese-to-English translation, English dictation, and Japanese composition/handwriting.

The "Summary of Revised Keio University Regulations" stated, "Those eligible to enter the first year of each department are those who have received a graduation certificate from the school's general course or those who have passed the university entrance examination." The examination subjects listed were: Japanese geography, world geography, Japanese history, world history, natural history, physics and chemistry, mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry), English-to-Japanese translation, Japanese-to-English translation, English conversation and dictation, Japanese composition, and drawing (freehand drawing). At that time, the eligibility requirements were "equivalent to graduation from a regular middle school," and for the English department, "equivalent to graduation from the school's general course." Graduates of regular middle schools had to take examinations in three subjects: English-to-Japanese translation, Japanese-to-English translation, and English conversation and dictation. Furthermore, it stated, "Those taking the entrance examination must pay the prescribed examination fee to the accounting office at the time of application." The examination fee was one yen.

Around this time, admission guides (the current General Information for Students (CALAMVS GLADIO FORTIOR)) were being published, which also included past examination questions. For example, the "1924 Keio University Admission Guide" listed the examination subjects for the 1923 academic year for the Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of Letters as five subjects: English (or German/French) to Japanese translation, Japanese to English (or German/French) translation, mathematics, Chinese classics, and Japanese language (composition). The School of Medicine had eight subjects: English (or German/French) to Japanese translation, Japanese to English (or German/French) translation, mathematics, Chinese classics, Japanese language (composition), physics, chemistry, and botany/zoology. An oral examination and a physical examination were required for all faculties.

The admission guide also had a section titled "Who Cannot Be Admitted," which stated that applicants who scored a zero or a similar score would not be admitted, regardless of their performance in other subjects. It also mentioned that even with perfect academic scores, applicants who failed the physical examination would not be admitted, and the standards for the medical course were relatively stricter than for other departments. Furthermore, only the medical course had an age limit, prohibiting those aged 23 or older from taking the exam, and it also described consequences for cheating during the examination.

According to the "1941 Keio University (and Fujiwara Institute of Technology) Guide," the academic examination subjects for the 1940 academic year for the School of Medicine were chemistry, mathematics, English (or German) reading comprehension, English (or German) composition and grammar, Chinese classics, and Japanese language. For the Faculty of Letters, Faculty of Economics, and Faculty of Law, the subjects were English (or German/French) reading comprehension, English (or German/French) composition and grammar, mathematics (for Economics and Law only), Chinese classics, Japanese language, and national history (for Letters only). In addition to the written examination, there was also an oral examination and a physical examination. The examination fee was five yen.

After the war, with the new university system, the examination system for national and public universities changed from the first- and second-stage school system to the Joint First-Stage Achievement Test, and now the National Center Test for University Admissions system and a separate/consecutive schedule system are in place. Private universities also began to introduce various examination methods around the time of the transition from the Joint First-Stage Achievement Test to the National Center Test. As of 1998, Keio University conducts general entrance examinations for all faculties, as well as recommendation-based admissions such as AO (Admissions Office) entrance examinations (for the Faculty of Policy Management and the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies) and recommendation-based admissions through self-nomination (for the Faculty of Letters).