Opposition to national scholastic achievement test increases

Posted on : 2009-02-21 12:10 KST Modified on : 2009-02-21 12:10 KST
Problems with the test raise concerns that the results could be manipulated when the test is administered this year
 Science and Technology called emergency meeting with officials from provincial education offices to deal with problems with the nationwide scholastic achievement assessment (ilje gosa) following reports that test scores were manipulated by schools around the country at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on February 20.
Science and Technology called emergency meeting with officials from provincial education offices to deal with problems with the nationwide scholastic achievement assessment (ilje gosa) following reports that test scores were manipulated by schools around the country at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on February 20.

With the furor about a national scholastic achievement test on the rise following the discovery that the Imsil Office of Education in North Jeolla Province manipulated its test results, there are rising concerns that similar problems with the test could recur in the next three rounds of testing scheduled to take place over the course of the year. Given the complaints about inconsistencies in how the test is scored and the fact that the test will be administered to more than one million students in a single day each of the next three times the test is given, support for eliminating the test, rather than simply improving it, has increased as well.

The nationwide scholastic achievement assessment (ilje gosa) is a test for elementary and middle school students that covers five subjects: Korean language, English language, mathematics, science and social studies.

Students in the fourth through ninth grades will be tested on March 10, according to an announcement made Friday by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. This means that a total of 2.7 million students, or five times more than the number of students who take the national college entrance exam, will take the test. Students in the third, sixth and ninth grades will take the test Oct. 13. The third round of testing will take place Dec. 23, the ministry said.

Members of the education community have expressed concerns that the frequency with which the test is to be administered will cause negative side effects, with the government’s goal of narrowing the gaps in education by properly assessing scholastic ability appearing remote.

After the test was administered to seventh graders last March, the test results were not released by education authorities in 16 cities and provinces but were leaked to private education companies (hagwon) and the media, leading to schools being ranked by region and academic district. That showed the test results could still be used to rank schools, even though they had not been released by the government.

Nevertheless, an official at the education ministry said he did not anticipate any further problems because the results of the test scheduled for March will not be disclosed and that students would only be informed of whether they were classified as performing or under performing.

The case involving the Imsil Office of Education was significant in that it revealed the intense pressure schools and regional education authorities feel improve their schools’ rankings. This indicates that competition for better test scores will heat up ahead of the October test.

While the education ministry said it would overhaul the testing system to eliminate inconsistencies with how the test is scored and make other improvements to prevent people from manipulating the test results, critics say it will be virtually impossible for the ministry to manage the test perfectly for all 1.96 million students who will take it on each test day in the coming year. There are still problems with the ministry’s management of the national college entrance exam, a test taken by only one third the number of students who will take the ilje gosa.

Kim Myeong-shin, co-president of the Stand Together for Better Education, said, “Cases of test score manipulation are likely to increase amidst the perception that test scores are equivalent to scholastic ability. Some schools may try to eliminate low test scores to increase the school’s overall performance, and it is likely that schools will get better at finding other ways to manipulate the scores. The ilje gosa should be eliminated because problems such as those cannot be resolved simply by improving the testing system.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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