The chief of Tokyo's Office of Education earlier this month apologized for more than 2,000 scoring errors found on high school entrance examinations. Those errors cost 18 students places in the schools they wanted to attend. The aggravation and disappointment of those students and their families and teachers is easy to imagine.
However, the problem of scoring errors is the right time to reconsider not just scoring but also the basis of those exams.
The apology from the head of the office to the parents, teachers, officials and the applicants themselves was all well and good. However, the errors should be the impetus to reconsider the lack of transparency in the entrance exam system at all levels.