Absolute Grading for High School Records From 2030? Education Commission Says Nothing Has Been Decided

A leaked draft of South Korea’s long-term education plan has raised the possibility of switching high school academic records to absolute grading from the 2030 school year. The National Education Commission said the proposal is not settled.

The commission said on the 7th that the document appeared to have been leaked while officials were still preparing parts of the draft. It said the leaked version would be reconsidered from the beginning.

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There has been no decision on whether to include this in the National Education Development Plan.

The exposed draft included a plan to replace the current five-grade relative assessment system with absolute grading. A commission report released in January had also proposed converting both the College Scholastic Ability Test and school records to a five-grade absolute system, as a way to address limits in the current university admissions system.

The earlier proposal called for stronger monitoring of absolute grading at individual schools to prevent grade inflation from undermining fairness. The commission aims to present a draft of its 2028-2037 National Education Development Plan in late October, reflect public feedback and finalize the plan by late March next year.

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The leaked version was identified as a document released while only part of the draft was being prepared, and it will be rewritten from the ground up.