THE FACTS The school year in Japan is divided into three terms. The first term lasts from April to July, the second from September to December, and the third from January to March. There are final exams at the end of each term. There are also midterm exams in the first and second terms but not in the third, which is shorter than the other two. Seventh graders who entered middle school in April face a number of midterm exams in late May. Tests are usually held in Japanese, mathematics, science, social studies, and English. Because students usually begin studying English in middle school, the midterm in English is generally their first test in this subject. A week before midterms, all club and other extracurricular activities are cancelled so that students can concentrate on preparing for the tests. Tension grows as test day approaches. Instead of hanging around school after classes are over, students rush home to study. Some kids study with friends, teaching each other things that are hard to understand. The results of the midterm exams and the end-of-term exams have a big bearing on the grade one gets for the term, which in turn becomes a major factor in choosing which high schools to apply for. That's the reason middle-school students, especially eighth and ninth graders, take these midterm exams seriously.

THE SCENE At the Aoto Middle School in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, midterm exams are held around the end of May. Tests, lasting 50 minutes each, begin at 8:30 a.m. On one day, seventh graders take exams in Japanese, science, and English. The next day they take their social studies and mathematics tests. Although the exams end in the morning on both days, kids can't relax until all the tests are over. For seventh graders who have just entered middle school, it's their first taste of the rigorous academic demands that will be made of them in the years to come.

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