Suneung - College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)
The suneung, the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) as the official English term, is also known as “the world’s hardest” test. More than half a million students sit for the college entrance exam, the nation's most important annual academic event that includes an English listening test during which all airplane takeoffs and landings are banned nationwide. The state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a nine-hour five-session exam, held at some 1,370 test sites across the country. The one day of the test is what the entire 12 years of public education in Korea have led up to.
The most exam-obsessed culture in the world, the contemporary Korean education system and particularly its “testocracy tradition” should be understood through the lens of Confucianism. Historically, success in completing state government exams meant not just a potential position but also the highest respect and provision for several generations of an extended family. Children are constantly reminded of the importance of academic success with only one goal in mind: if one wants to be prosperous and happy he or she will have to make into one of the top three universities, Seoul National, Korea or Yonsei.
Korea'a "education fever" dates back to the gwageo, a civil-service exam that flourished in the Joseon Kingom (1392-1910). Back then, people were classified into four main categories – Yangban (the upper class), Jungin (the middle class), Sangmin (the commoner) and Chunin (the lower class). A combination of Confucian values on learning and social hierarchy ranked people by their academic knowledge. Korean educational outcomes have been celebrated in the international media in the past decade. For example, in 2012, Korea, together with Finland, ranked highest in the Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment, a composite score of international test scores, literacy and graduation rates.
The current education "machine" produces so many highly-qualified students that the government is having difficulty differentiating between them. In addition, this overly qualified workforce is unable to find employment commensurate with their level of skills given the structure of the domestic labour market. The lack of demand for such capable workers is striking, as only a limited number of prestigious chaebols or large family-owned corporations are likely to employ them. As a result, students are competing fiercely for these limited future work places, and this competition starts as early as middle school.
The annual exam, known as "Suneung" in Korean, is largely considered a life-altering event in the country as it determines not only which university they can go but also often their entire careers. Not only the students but also their parents often feel that the single-day event impacts their future, prompting the government to make society-wide efforts to help the test-takers.
Public transport was increased to help students get to their test centers in time, while the transport ministry has banned all airplane takeoffs and landings for 40 minutes from 1:05 p.m. to ensure that no noise disturbs the English listening test. Aircraft in midair should be on standby at altitudes of at least 3 kilometers above ground. These measures led to the adjustment of the schedules for 18 domestic and 59 international flights, according to transport ministry officials.
In response to concerns over extremely difficult 'killer questions' driving students to private tutoring, the ruling People Power Party and government agreed In June 2023 to remove these from mock college exams from September. Autonomous, foreign language, and international schools, previously set for phase-out, will remain in operation.
Korean parents and students spent a record 26 trillion won ($19.9 billion) on private education. Students from elementary to high school spent 410,000 won per month in 2022, up a whopping 50.9 percent from 2017, according to the Education Ministry.
In an urgently held meeting with 5 months left to the college entrance exam, the ruling party and the government assessed that extra difficult so-called "killer" questions in the test were the main cause of increasing dependence on private education. They pointed out that such questions, often coming from outside the public school curriculum, can only be covered at cram schools, and thereby harm the fairness of the college admissions process.
Lee Tae-kyu (People Power Party): 'Killer’ questions even professors can't solve and questions that require a background knowledge are the culprit behind the private education frenzy.
Officials decided to exclude these so-called 'killer questions' from the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) known as Suneung in Korea from now on, and this will apply right away starting with a mock exam scheduled for September. However on the issue of how to ensure the exam suitably evaluates test-takers' ability, the government simply said that advanced techniques would be employed in penning the exam questions.
Lee Ju-ho (Minister of Education): ":Questions developed by competent authors can sufficiently distinguish student ability and address that concern.... A collusive cartel between authorities and the private education sector is partly to blame. I believe the ministry thoroughly failed its supervising role."
The government and ruling camp also vowed to clamp down on false and exaggerated advertising by large scale private institutes focused on CSAT preparations. They also decided to retain autonomous private schools and special purpose high schools specializing in foreign languages or international studies. These types of schools were set to be converted into regular schools in line with policies set under the previous administration.
The government said it has a different educational philosophy from its predecessor and also cited the realistic reason that schools have won in many court cases challenging that decision to abolish them. Regarding concern that the continued existence of special purpose high schools would accelerate private education to expand to lower grades, authorities promised to draft complementary measures. The government and ruling bloc also pledged to step up academic evaluation in order to reduce the number of students falling behind and failing to meet the minimum performance standard.
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