South Korea's College Entrance Exam Faces Overhaul Amidst Concerns of Ineffectiveness

South Korea's National Education Commission is preparing to overhaul the college entrance exam, a pivotal moment for the nation's education system. The proposed reforms for the 2033 academic year include introducing essay-based questions and transitioning to a relative grading system. This move aims to shift away from the current emphasis on multiple-choice questions and intense score competition.

However, the history of college entrance exam reforms in South Korea is fraught with unmet expectations. For the past two decades, each reform has been justified with the promise of normalizing public education and reducing the burden of private tutoring costs. The underlying logic has been that a more equitable and less competitive exam would lead to a more focused high school curriculum, thereby diminishing the need for expensive private academies.

Yet, this vision has consistently failed to materialize. The Dong-A Ilbo article points to the 2008 reform, which introduced a 9-grade system, as a particularly dark chapter. Similar to the current proposal's aim to reduce the exam's evaluative power, the 2008 reform sought to boost the importance of internal school grades. The expectation was that this would revitalize high school classrooms. Instead, the opposite occurred. As the college entrance exam lost its discriminatory power, students found themselves needing to excel not only in their internal school grades but also in the exam itself, alongside other admission requirements like essay writing.

The current proposal, spearheaded by National Education Commission chair Cha Jeong-in, who stated that "there is no need to go to private academies," echoes past pronouncements. The article suggests that this sentiment, while perhaps well-intentioned, overlooks the persistent reality that exam reforms have not fundamentally altered the competitive landscape of South Korean education. The cycle of reform, intended to simplify and equalize, has often resulted in increased pressure on students to master multiple assessment methods.

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There is no need to go to private academies.