A CHRONOLOGY of COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS IN SOUTH KOREA michelle H. Jeong 02.28.2013

1. A CHRONOLOGY of COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS IN SOUTH KOREA michelle H. Jeong 02.28.2013

2. (CSAT) College Scholastic Aptitude Test, called 수능 “Suneung” in Korean, implemented in 1993 by the Ministry of Education • Prior college entrance examination (1982-1993) abolished based on reason: too many subjects tested • Students had to study for 10 subjects total from 3 versions: humanities, sciences, and fine arts based exams • CSAT design based on the US’s SAT • Number of subjects tested reduced to 4 core: • Korean • Mathematics • Science AND History • English Overview

3. Korea has its top 20 and the top three universities are referred to as “SKY:” Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. • OECD averages: Korea dubbed ‘the land of educational extremes’ • Korea has the highest education costs born by households • one of the lowest government spending rates in the sector • highest transition rates from secondary into tertiary educationof any country and lowest happiness rates for students. • 376 official HE institutions support 3.7 million students and 60,000+ academic staff  • 179 Private 4-year Universities • 149 2-year, 3-year Junior colleges (770,000 student population, 12,500 faculty) • 43 National Universities, Polytechnics, Cyber-universities, etc (Source: OECD Report & The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education Borderless Report, October 2011) Background

4. 1993 1st CSAT 1995 2nd CSAT • 2 different exams offered, so students can choose test dates: August 29th or November 16th • 08/29/1993 average percentage: 49.2% • 11/16/1993 average percentage: 44.5% • Reduced to 1 exam offered. Students given single chance to take test within a year. • Reason: 2 exams had different averages: the first test administered was easier than the second. For fairness, the MOE decided to give one test to all students on one date

5. 1998: 1 student in the entire nation got one question wrong, which earned her the highest score. 1999: 1st student (female) in the history of CSAT to earn a perfect score 2000: 1 student (female) receives perfect score 2001: 66 students earn perfect marks (President Kim Daejung’s term; he advocated for easier college exams, but this in turn increased competition for 1st choice schools) 2002: Most difficult year, lowest average (President Kim apologizes to the people for difficulty of test) On average, the CSAT has been a 9 hour long exam But not quite like the sat…

6. Original exam (1994-2004) --for students born pre-1986 Revised version (2005-2011) --For students born in 1986-1992 • Korean (120 pts) • Mathematics (80 pts) • Science AND History (120 pts) • English (80 pts) ---------------------------------------------------- Total: 400 pts • Korean (100 pts) • Mathematics (100 pts) • Science OR History (100 pts) • English (100 pts) • 2nd Language (50 pts) • [choices: Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Classical Chinese, & Arabic] • Vocational (50 pts) • [choices: agriculture, marine biology, info-tech, engineering, computer programming, nutrition and health, finance & economics…] ---------------------------------------------------------- Total : 500 pts

7. Approx. 70% of college admissions determined by CSAT scores • Remaining 30% School grades + TEPS (Test of English Proficiency developed by Seoul National University), TOEIC, & TOEFL • Universities that look at CSAT scores vs. Universities w/ *independent admissions systems • Seoul National University --World Rank: 59, Status: National • *KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Technology) –World Rank: 68, Status: Public Research • Yonsei University --World Rank: 183, Status: Private • Korea University –World Rank: Data withheld by Times HE, Status: Private • *POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) --World Rank: 50 , Status: Private [Source: Times Higher Education, 2012-2013] Weight of admissions

8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSKpALLtEMI The Csat as “The national experience” vs. internationalizing & globalizing H.E.

9. For students who will be seniors in 2014, there will be an optional A (easier version) and B (difficult version) for each subject. • The Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has advocated for this change “to relieve students’ stress;” however, universities demand incoming students to take version B over version A for certain majors, so“choice” does not exist for students. • ex. SNU requires humanities majors to take B levels in both Korean and English, while it requires science majors to take B levels in mathematics. Proposed changes in the future

10. In South Korea, why do you think there are internal changes made within the existing exam system (in terms of content, weighing scores, subjects tested, degree of difficulty, number of problem sets, etc) but not any overarching systematic changes for admissions into universities? How can internationalization efforts help or challenge this pre-existing superstructure of college entrance exams? (Maybe not so much direct causation or correlation, but the immense time and money devoted to CSAT prep and sending children to colleges has impacted the birth rate, suicide rate, and students’ seeking opportunities to attend HE institutions abroad) With the Incheon Free Economic Zone and other globalization endeavors promoted by the Korean government, do you envision any reforms for the examination system? If so, what direction do you propose? Questions