The reading skills of Japanese 15-year-olds have plummeted over the past few years, leaving Japan lagging behind 13 other countries, a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has shown.
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In the first survey conducted in 2000, Japan had ranked eighth in this category.
Japan placed second and sixth in science and mathematics, but officials in Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said that with the drop in reading comprehension skills, Japan could not be considered to be at a top world level.
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The average mark for the member countries was set at 500 in each of the four categories -- reading comprehension, science, mathematics and problem solving. The reading level of individual students was split into categories, ranging from "level 5" (626 points or more) to "below level 1" (less than 335 points).
The percentage of Japanese students below level 1 rose to 7.4 percent, up from 2.7 percent in the previous survey and above the average of 6.7 percent for OECD member countries.
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In reading comprehension the top 15 countries and their scores were as follows: Finland (543), South Korea (534), Canada (528), Australia (525), Liechtenstein (525), New Zealand (522), Ireland (515), Sweden (514), Holland (513), Hong Kong (510), Belgium (507), Norway (500), Switzerland (499), Japan (498), Macao (498). (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Dec. 7, 2004)
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