A Comparative Analysis of MEXT English Reading Textbooks and Japan’s National Center Test

Abstract

Despite the influence of changing demographics in Japan, the National Center Test for University Entrance Exams continues to assert an ever increasing role in the process of university admissions. In preparation for this examination, the majority of senior high school students learn from textbooks approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). This study compares Section Six of the 2003-2007 and 2008-2009 National Center Test English reading examination with three widely used MEXT senior high school reading textbooks. By triangulating analyses of vocabulary, reading ease/grade level indices, reading skills, and comprehension item formats, thereby expanding the methodologies of previous research in this area, the study poses the question:To what degree do the text and comprehension tasks of MEXT textbooks compare with those which students will be expected to comprehend in the National Center Test reading examination? Updating the results of earlier studies, the descriptive and inferential statistics reveal that while the vocabulary levels of the textbook now appear to correspond more closely with recent versions of the examination, further alignment of readability, grade levels, and comprehension tasks is necessary if MEXT textbooks are to support the development of reading proficiency now required.