Akademische Fähigkeit in Form von Zahlen: Hensachi als doppeltes Ranking von Personen und Universitäten.

This article describes a specific way of ranking university programs and students in the Japanese education system, called hensachi. Although many different university rankings exist inside and outside Japan, this particular ranking system, produced by private education companies, seems to be the most important one for aspiring undergraduate students. It will be argued that this is due to practices accompanying the final years of middle and high school. Both provide the basis for production of this ranking and normalize its subsequent use. Based on an exploratory analysis of qualitative interviews with Japanese university students, a reconstruction of the system that produces this ranking will be provided. From the standpoint of students, the possible implications of reliance on this ranking system and available alternatives to it will be discussed. The analysis shows that the common understanding of an intelligent student and a good university are combined with specific practices of preparation for university entrance exams. When decisions about where and what to study are purely guided by those understandings, however, important education goals may be lost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]