It is important to clearly explain and share the meaning and purpose of the nation’s educational policies to the general population and stakeholders. In addition, for efficient and effective implementation of the policies, practicing the PDCA cycle is essential, as it includes clarifying goals and objectively checking achievements and feedback for problems discovered in the new plan.

Based on these ideas, this Basic Plan describes achievement targets, achievement indicators, and specific measures required to reach the goals during the next five years from FY2013 to FY2017, in order to materialize the Four Basic Directions outlined in Part 1.

The achievement targets identified in this Basic Plan correspond to the results of the coordination of educational standards targeted by the entire country and measures implemented by the nation. The specific methods and goals of education should be set by each stakeholder according to actual situations, taking into account the entire nation’s direction. The national government will encourage such voluntary efforts.

Note 1:Attitudes for setting the achievement targets

The achievement targets based on the policies are not matters of quantity in business. They are goals considered from the viewpoint of what types of outcomes are useful for the target groups (i.e., learners or the entire society) of the educational measures.

The targets should eventually lead to ripple effects on the society as a whole, such as improvements in economic indicators. However, due to the long period of time that it takes for the effects to emerge, and because there are many elements other than the educational policies that appear in the course of obtaining the effects, it is not always easy to prove the correlation between the educational policies and effects. Therefore, in anticipation of a ripple effect on the entire society, this Basic Plan sets achievement targets for which the contributions of educational policy are estimated relatively largely; for example, targets concerning that what kinds of knowledge or skills should be targeted, or at which levels of education certain opportunities should be ensured.

In addition, if target-setting for the achievements of educational policies is difficult, goals targeting achievements directly from implemented educational policies are to be set, such as increasing the number of educational projects launched throughout the country.

Note 2:Attitudes for setting the achievement indicators

Achievement indicators complement the contents of achievement targets and show particularly important examples to assess the direct or indirect attainment of those targets. In this case, to ensure objectivity, the set indicators should be numerical. If numerical indicators cannot be set, the indicators should allow an observer to see the increase or decrease of the results in the lapse of time.

Also, when evaluating the levels of achievement, it is important to consider using various indicators not mentioned in this Basic Plan, to develop new indicators, and to collect information on many examples.

Note 3:Attitudes for developing basic measures

Because the measures are projects (inputs) to be implemented during the next five years in order to achieve the goals determined in this Basic Plan, they must be clarified as much as possible. This includes outlining the process of when and how they will be implemented (input goals).