This survey was conducted by MEXT in cooperation with municipal educational committees and educational institutions, and its purpose is to review the achievements and issues of education and educational policies, with a view to making improvements. This is implemented by collecting data on and analyzing academic achievements and learning conditions of students in various regions, from the viewpoint of the provision of equal opportunities for compulsory education nationwide and the maintenance and improvement of standards of education.
 NIER is in charge of the development of the questions on Japanese, arithmetic/mathematics and the reference materials, as well as analyzing the results and preparing reports.
 The survey of these subjects aims to identify and review how each of the students could fully learn and use fundamental elements of the curriculum.
 Therefore, the questionnaire has been developed based on the objectives and contents of the curriculum to be covered: (1) specific descriptions of the academic abilities expected of students, (2) important items particularly specified in the curriculum and (3) items helpful for the students to learn how to improve their learning approach and independent problem-solving skills.
 The following are the categories of the questions.