[2025 Fiscal Year / Reiwa 7] Hamamatsu Nishi High School Junior High Division Entrance Exam Analysis: Analogical Thinking Problems on a Downward Trend - Learning Power That Goes Beyond Entrance Exams, Starting with 'Why?'

When thinking about your child's future, it is important to know the trends in entrance exams. This time, I would like to consider the comprehensive aptitude test for the Hamamatsu Nishi High School Junior High Division for the 2025 fiscal year, particularly from the perspective of analogical thinking.

In entrance exams up until last year, there were many problems involving analogical thinking that required students to deepen their thoughts by asking, 'Why is that?' or 'How does that happen?'. For example, in a problem about planning a trip, it was necessary to combine various information such as maps, weather data, and budgets to derive the optimal answer.

However, looking at this year's trends, a slight change can be felt. Problems asking for analogical thinking have decreased, and instead, problems confirming basic knowledge and understanding seem to have increased. Although the overall difficulty level has decreased, the problem statements have become longer, and it seems that reading comprehension will take time.

Let's pause here and think.

Even if the format of the entrance exam changes, the importance of cultivating the 'power to think' does not change. Rather, isn't developing the habit of asking 'Why?' and 'How?' in daily life a great asset for your child's future?

For example, when thinking about the dinner menu, it might be good to have a conversation like, 'Why did Mom choose this vegetable?' or 'Why did she choose this cooking method?'. Alternatively, when planning a family trip for the weekend, you can also ponder, 'Why choose this place at this time?'

The accumulation of such daily 'questions' and 'considerations' will naturally nurture your child's thinking ability. It should become a power that allows them to flexibly respond to various challenges they will face in the future, not just as preparation for entrance exams.

The trends in the Hamamatsu Nishi High School Junior High Division entrance exam will change. However, rather than being swayed by those changes, finding the 'joy of thinking' together with your child is key. Such a positive attitude will eventually foster the ability to ask questions themselves like 'Why does it happen like that?', connect knowledge by thinking 'This is similar to that thing I learned before', and think creatively by saying 'This should be a better solution'.

That is not a temporary power for the entrance exam, but a power to keep learning, allowing them to set their own 'questions' and find answers while engaging in dialogue with people around them every time they encounter new challenges in junior high school, high school, university, and in life beyond.

Next time, let's consider the interview exam.