Exam chief in South Korea resigns due to college entry English test being too difficult
On Wednesday (10 Dec), the chief official responsible for South Korea’s annual college entrance exams resigned after massive backlash over the English portion of the test.
Results of the College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung, which was administered to students on 13 Nov, were released earlier this month on 4 Dec.
The exam saw the lowest proportion of “Level 1” high scorers since 2018, with only around 3% of 15,154 test takers getting the top grade.
In tests which officials consider an “appropriate” level of difficulty, 7% of students typically achieve the Level 1 score.
Source: The Korea Herald
Pushing students into private tutoring academies
At a press conference, the exam chief, Oh Seung-geol, expressed regret and explained the reasoning for why the test was so challenging.
“For the English section, we found many questions that were similar to those used in private mock tests,” he said. As a result, the team changed the questions, but were unable to assess how difficult they would be.
The recent results have cast a spotlight on private education in South Korea.
Already, anxious parents are looking to enroll their children in these academies.
“We’ve been getting consultation calls since the score reports were released,” one academy head said.
However, many are still concerned about those who lack access to such resources.
“If we do not strengthen public education, students in rural areas — who already lack access to private education — will be at a disadvantage,” said an official.
Infamous English exam
The English portion of the College Scholastic Ability Test is infamous for its difficulty.
The college entrance exam, more commonly known as Suneung, can determine a high school student’s trajectory in life from their future job prospects to relationships.
The English test, however, has long been controversial — with many native English speakers calling the questions “crazy”.
The questions typically demand students to have field-specific knowledge. That or they have to be good test takers.
“The problems have nothing to do with English comprehension,” one public school teacher in South Korea said.
“But the students who do well on the test don’t try to ‘understand’ the given text and passage. Instead, they focus on how to get to the answer with the knowledge they have.”
Source: The Korea Herald
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Featured image adapted from The Korea Herald and Medium.
