Negative aspects of after school cram schools are that those which last from about 4-7 are very hard on a student. The student will still have their daily homework to consider as well as possibly their cram school homework. An article by Harnisch (1994) explained the curriculum and daily lifestyle of a case study student named Taro. This fifth grade student attended regular school from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. After the hour break the student attended juku from 4:30 pm to 7:45 pm, after which the student went home, ate dinner, and afterwards began homework which was due the following day for both regular school as well as juku.
Many students that I know who went to schools such as Tozai Japanese language juku or a Kumon class express that they had trouble staying awake during their normal class days. But on a more positive note, these students, while possibly overwhelmed at times, they did not seem to have so much trouble grasping the material or keeping good study habits. They were very efficient and accurate in their work and many of these students were much better prepared during junior high and high school classes.
Some parents may force their children to attend cram schools. While others may not be able to afford these schools, and still some do not even know about such options. If I had children, and growing up as I did, I know I had a lot of trouble with math and it did not really click until the 8th grade or so. This was a year of drastic class size reduction and competition due to my class enrollment being about 10 students in the private school South Bay Junior Academy (Torrance). The teachers were able to help with every little problem and they always had time. And the small class size allowed us to help and teach each other as well as have friendly competition which was a great motivator.
It is possible that in Japan, the cram schools serve a very important need as the opportunities there allow for little “leaving behind” of students. I am sure that there are even school systems in Japan that are for the elite. And likely those who are involved in either no or less superior cram schools may feel at a disadvantage. In the US there seems to be (at least in LA County) more room for error. While community colleges are changing due to economic struggles and classes are extremely difficult to enroll in and transfer rates are dropping as universities are less able to accommodate so many transfers, it is still possible to go to a very poor high school and attend community college. But it is still a matter of preparedness once the student is in college. If a student places into low math and English courses they will still have to take maybe an entire year or more just to place into the appropriate level college course which is required to take general and later core classes before transferring. 