Check takers look forward to the beginning of the School Scholastic Aptitude Check at Kyungbock Excessive Faculty in Seoul, Nov. 13. Joint Press Corps
Korea’s all-important annual faculty entrance check, broadly often known as the CSAT, is going through an unprecedented disaster as furor over this yr’s problem and alleged query flaws fuels calls not only for drastic reform however even for its abolition. Lengthy handled because the arbiter of educational success, the examination is now beneath intense scrutiny over whether or not it nonetheless has a spot within the period of synthetic intelligence (AI).
In an open letter despatched to President Lee Jae Myung final week, 15 senior educators, together with Park Do-soon, one of many CSAT architects, known as for the abolition of the check. They criticized what they known as a “lineup” check that, of their view, focuses on rating college students as a substitute of training them.
“Whereas the federal government talks of creating Korea a top-three AI energy, colleges stay locked in twentieth century rote studying and multiple-choice drills,” they stated in a joint assertion. “We should abolish the present system of rating college students by way of the CSAT and multiple-choice evaluations. It’s time to make a big shift in training ― one which helps our youngsters develop vital considering, kind their very own values and views, and develop into democratic residents with heat hearts and clear minds.”
This yr’s CSAT has emerged as a serious flashpoint. Examination officers insisted there have been no defective questions, however college students and professors have challenged the declare. For instance, a humanities professor at Pohang College of Science and Know-how stated that Query 17 within the Korean part had no appropriate reply in any respect, whereas Query 24 within the English part drew greater than 300 formal complaints from test-takers. This finally compelled Oh Seung-geol to step down as president of the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Analysis, the state group that creates and administers the check.
The controversy unfold abroad, with English-language information media shops such because the BBC highlighting the “insane” problem of the English part. At difficulty is not only its toughness, however whether or not the check is sensible and whether or not it displays the official curriculum that college students are purported to be examined on. Many critics say the CSAT fails on each fronts.
Rep. Baek Seung-ah of the ruling Democratic Get together of Korea and civic group World With out Non-public Training Worries analyzed the CSAT English part and concluded that about 40 % of the 28 studying questions exceeded even the best problem stage present in 4 main highschool English textbooks.
“By way of general problem, the proportion of studying passages and the vocabulary used, it goes past the extent of the English II textbook, which is meant to outline the scope of the examination,” they stated on Thursday.
Some critics say the issues go far deeper than just a few dangerous questions. In an AI-driven period, a check constructed on multiple-choice gadgets with a single proper reply is more and more seen as out of step with what’s required to achieve success in right this moment’s world. They are saying an examination obsessive about choosing one appropriate choice beneath time stress can not foster the creativity and higher-order problem-solving abilities wanted sooner or later.
In a hanging transfer, Seoul Metropolitan Workplace of Training Superintendent Jung Keun-sik held a press convention on Dec. 10 to suggest a phased exit from the CSAT.
Jung proposed scrapping the CSAT fully by the 2040 educational yr. In a street map for reform, he stated, all particular person college checks and the CSAT must convert to absolute analysis by 2033, whereas increasing written and essay-style assessments. Following the abolition of the CSAT, a college record-centered admissions system could be in place, and universities would acquire better autonomy to pick out college students by way of interviews and different assessments, he added.
Jung stated that dramatic reform is inevitable, given the demographic state of affairs. Based on information from Statistics Korea and the Korean Council for College Training, a consultative group that consists of universities throughout the nation, the variety of 18‑yr‑previous college students who’re potential college entrants this yr dropped to some 456,000, from greater than 820,000 in 2000. This determine is projected to proceed to fall to almost 260,000 by 2040.
