[Obunsha Co., Ltd.] Obunsha investigates trends among applicants in the first year of new curriculum entrance exams! “Survey on High School Students’ University Entrance Exam Preparation (2025 Edition)” Released
Obunsha Co., Ltd. Press release: September 9, 2025 To Members of the Press Obunsha Surveys the Trends of Applicants in the First Year of New Curriculum Entrance Exams! “Survey on High School Students’ University Entrance Exam Preparation (2025 Edition)” Released The timing of practicing past Common Test exam questions is trending slightly earlier. Over 90% of external English proficiency exams use the Eiken(R) exam. Obunsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hideki Kumekawa), an educational publisher, conducted a “Survey on University Entrance Exam Students (※1)” targeting first-year university students who were accepted and enrolled in university in spring 2025 through “University Entrance Exam Pass Navi,” an online service that supports university entrance exam students. We are pleased to announce that the “Survey on High School Students’ University Entrance Exam Prep (2025 Edition),” which summarizes the trends of 2025 exam candidates based on the results of the survey, was released on September 8th. 〈For Exam Takers and Parents〉 “University Entrance Exam Pass Navi”
https://passnavi.obunsha.co.jp/article/column/2025/exam_survey/
School”https://passnavi-school.obunsha.co.jp/contents/03study_03report_20250901/ *A PDF of the full survey report is available to high school teachers upon request. ■ Trends in Common Test Entrance Exams and Preparation in the First Year of the New Curriculum Entrance Exams The test-taking rate for “Information I” in the 2025 Common Test, the first year of the new curriculum entrance exam, is 60%. There appears to be a trend toward practicing past Common Test questions slightly earlier. 〈Common Test Subjects〉 Regarding “Information I,” which will be included for the first time in the 2025 Common Test, the first year of the new curriculum, 64.2% of respondents said they “took” the test. The majority of respondents to this survey took the Common Test, including “Information I.” In addition, the test-taking rate for “Information I” in the 2025 University Entrance Common Test (main exam) was 60.6%. (Number of test takers: 461,505, Number of test takers for
“Information I”: 279,718) (※2)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-ac8f1aad2f2ec9f9f76222b85351d0ee-1200×846.png 〈Preparing for Past Common Test Questions〉 When asked about preparing for the Common Test with past questions, 79.0% of respondents answered that they “solved past questions.” This represents approximately 90% of respondents excluding those who “did not prepare for the Common Test (it was not necessary)” (i.e., 87.3% of test takers who needed to prepare for the Common Test).
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-ce7899c981e0becd94be0ecb5cfe58b1-1200×549.png 〈When did you first solve past Common Test questions?〉 When asked when they first solved past Common Test questions, 64.2% of test-takers answered “by June of their third year of high school.” This is a slight increase compared to last year’s survey. Furthermore, looking at the specific time of study, the number of people who answered “October to December of their third year of high school” decreased, indicating that overall, people are starting to prepare for past Common Test questions earlier.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-8f968855ee08ee6daf20cbcad25687d0-1200×395.png ■The reality of entrance exams using external English proficiency tests As with last year, the overwhelming majority of English entrance exams use external proficiency tests, with the Eiken test being used. More than half learned that external proficiency tests could be used at the university they were applying to “before September of their second year of high school.” While the peak period for obtaining the required grades and scores is between the winter of their second year and the summer of their third year, students continue to take external proficiency tests until the fall of their third year. 〈External Exams Used for Entrance Exams〉 When asked about the external exam they used for entrance exams, 92.9% of respondents chose the Eiken test, the same percentage as last year. The Eiken test continues to be the only external exam used by test takers.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-4a4e0bbb4fe6ea4e02c319ce58ea2e20-1200×606.png 〈When did you find out you could use the GSEF and when did you obtain the grade and score you used for the entrance exam〉 While more than half of respondents were aware that external certification exams were available at their desired schools “before September of their second year of high school,” the most common time they actually obtained the grades and scores they used for entrance exams was “January to March of their second year of high school” (22.7%), followed by “July to September of their third year of high school (17.2%).” While the peak period for obtaining grades and scores is from the winter of their second year to the summer of their third year, students tend to continue taking external certification exams until the fall of their third year of high school. On the other hand, 34.7% of test-takers said they only found out that external tests could be used for the entrance exams of the universities they applied to after they were in their third year of high school.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-d67b09734d9788f11a5a53cedae6b557-1200×682.png Including the results of this survey, University Entrance Exam Path Navi will continue to provide information on university entrance exams nationwide and information useful for career choices and exam preparation, so that students hoping to go to university can make a satisfactory career choice. We hope you will make use of it. *1 The survey period was December 2024 to June 2025. The number of valid responses (those who went on to university) was 4,381. For some questions (single-answer tally), the total may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Additionally, because responses to some questions are tallied based on the response status of other questions, the total number of respondents may be less than 4,381. *2 The National Center for University Entrance Examinations, “Summary of the Results of the 2025 Common University Entrance Examination” *Eiken(R) is a registered trademark of the English Language Proficiency Test Foundation of Japan. *This content has not been approved, recommended, or otherwise reviewed by the Japan English Language Proficiency Test Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation. [Related information] 2024 Survey: First-year university students responded! 70% of students decided to enroll based on the “content they could learn,” 60% completed past exam questions “by December of their third year of high school,” and the majority used the Eiken® exam for external testing. However, 36.6% found out that it could be used at the school they were applying to in their third year of high school, a little late. [Related Services] ■ “Obunsha University Entrance Exam Pass Navigator”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-30dc2cf272b57f63e49e897bb82d76a4-659×239.png “University Entrance Exam Pass Navi” is a web service that supports university applicants, from choosing a university to passing. In addition to being able to search for universities nationwide, it also provides information useful for choosing your preferred school and preparing for the exam, such as requesting materials, past exam questions, and entrance exam information. Official website
URL:https://passnavi.obunsha.co.jp/ ■Portal site for high schools: “Obunsha PassNavi for School”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-7205b09dd1ec6008eb21f78da055eb71-1339×549.png “Obunsha PassNavi for School” is a portal site for high schools that supports teachers by providing information on learning and teaching materials, as well as career and education. The site offers useful information on daily classes, regular tests, university entrance exam preparation, career and higher education, and career education in the categories of “Subject Guidance,” “Career and Education Information,” and “Seminars and Research.” The site also provides PDF copies of some articles from the entrance exam information magazines “Keisetsu Jidai” and “Keisetsu Jidai Special Edition,” which are convenient for distribution. Please register as a member and take advantage of this service. Official website URL:https://passnavi-school.obunsha.co.jp/ ■Obunsha Common Member ID “Obunsha Manabi ID”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-3a796651cc17fadbc96b58e68e5faae6-931×268.png The “Obunsha Manabi ID” is a membership ID that can be used for various learning and entrance exam information services provided by Obunsha. Membership registration is free, and in addition to email address registration, linked registration with Apple ID or Google account is also supported. By registering for an “Obunsha Manabi ID,” each learner can receive more in-depth support for their learning. As of September 2025, we are affiliated with “University Entrance Exam Pass Navi,” “Entrance Exam Answers Digital,” “Learning Friends,” “Target Friends,” “Eiken(R) Cacommon for Exam Takers,” and “English Friends.” “Obunsha Manabi ID”: https://id.obunsha.co.jp/ “University Entrance Exam Pass Navi”: https://passnavi.obunsha.co.jp/ “Entrance Exam Answers Digital”: https://kakomon.obunsha.co.jp/ “Friend of learning”: https://manatomo.obunsha.co.jp/ “Target’s Friend”: https://www.obunsha.co.jp/pr/tg30/ “Eiken(R) Kakomon for Exam Takers”: https://eiken-kakomon.obunsha.co.jp/ “Friend of English”:
https://eigonotomo.com/
[Company Profile]
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/55026/296/55026-296-577a0643c2d5ae7b0d1713993b1c4833-164×174.jpg Those who learn are those who change. Not only do we solve the problems in front of us, but we also discover questions about life and social issues for ourselves. People learn in order to continue to challenge themselves. Learning can change the world little by little. Towards a world where anyone can learn, anytime, anywhere. We will continue to support those who learn. Obunsha brand site URL: https://www.obunsha.co.jp/pr/change/ Company name: Obunsha Co., Ltd. Representative: President and Representative Director Hideki Kumekawa Established: October 1, 1931 main office Address: 55 Yokodera-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8680 TEL: 03-3266-6400 Business: Comprehensive publishing and business focused on education and information URL: https://www.obunsha.co.jp/ Copyright ©
Corporation All Rights Reserved.