Tokyo Meguro Elementary School, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract: The fully revised Courses of Study for Elementary Schools, comprehensively implemented by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2020, formally established a three-dimensional "viewpoint-by-viewpoint" (kanten-betsu) assessment framework comprising "knowledge and skills," "thinking, judgment and expression," and "attitude toward independent learning." This framework thoroughly overturned the traditional single-score summative assessment model and has become the statutory core standard for educational evaluation and academic ability judgment in Japanese primary mathematics education. However, based on the current state of implementation in Japanese public elementary schools, the three-dimensional assessment of the vast majority of schools remains largely formal, with persistent problems including unbalanced assessment dimensions, vague and overly broad quantification criteria, a chronic absence of in-class instantaneous educational measurement, and difficulties in objectively quantifying the "attitude" dimension. Conventional written tests can only effectively cover the single dimension of "knowledge and skills," while core assessment content such as higher-order mathematical thinking, problem-solving judgment, mathematical expression literacy, and autonomous learning attitudes has long relied on teachers' subjective year-end impressions. This has led to insufficient assessment precision, weak credibility, and a weakened educational orientation, preventing evaluation from fulfilling its core function of promoting student growth.

To effectively resolve the deep-seated practical contradiction between "standardized policy" and "crude classroom implementation" in Japanese primary mathematics assessment, this study strictly adheres to Japan's local curriculum standards and the learning characteristics of lower- and middle-grade primary students—namely concrete cognition and habit formation. Focusing on the practical pain points and reform difficulties of routine classroom-based educational measurement, this study innovatively constructs a three-stage fine-grained classroom measurement model consisting of "pre-class diagnostic measurement — in-class dynamic measurement — post-class consolidation measurement." It breaks down the macro, abstract official three-dimensional assessment criteria into observable, quantifiable, recordable, and traceable classroom-based operational indicators, effectively solving the long-standing professional challenges of quantification, routine implementation, and precise teaching empowerment in viewpoint-by-viewpoint assessment.

Keywords: Japanese primary mathematics; educational measurement; viewpoint-by-viewpoint assessment; new Courses of Study; in-class dynamic measurement; individualized optimal learning