Suneung reform plans unveiled for 2028 school year

S. Korea to reduce scope of Suneung subjects; adopt five-tier absolute grading system at high schools

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho speaks during a press briefing at the Government Complex Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s Ministry of Education on Tuesday unveiled plans for the 2028 school year college admissions to make the state-administered college entrance exam more equitable and change the high school grading system.

The latest measures, will affect current eighth graders, giving students and parents time to prepare. The ministry is mandated to notify the public of major changes to the country’s education system four years in advance.

As part of its efforts to reform the college entrance exam, known as Suneung, the ministry said it would reduce the scope of subjects by integrating them all under the categories of Korean language, mathematics, social studies, science exploration and vocational exploration. The textbooks and curricula that cover 17 elective under the humanities and sciences will be integrated as well. The ministry will roll out sample questions in the new format in the latter half of next year at the earliest to help students grasp the upcoming exam questions.

Under the reform measures, some 50 percent of Suneung questions will come from EBS lectures -- a state-run public broadcaster specializing in education, which offers online courses -- so that students can self-study without resorting to private education, the ministry said.

The ministry also proposed creating an advanced mathematics subject covering Calculus 2 and Geometry for the Suneung to nurture talent in cutting-edge industries.

“(The measures) introduced (today) are a set of plans that can recognize and foster future-oriented talents in the rapidly changing society and help them navigate career paths and what they excel at,” Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said during a press briefing at the Government Complex Seoul.

A fresh wave of change will also occur in classrooms in 2025, where high schools will start using the five-tier absolute grading scale from A to E -- a mode of grading where grades are given based on predetermined cutoff levels, making it possible for many students to receive an A. As of now, school tests are based on a relative grading system that sorts all students into nine groups for each subject, with only those who make it into the top tier getting admission into prestigious universities. Currently, only 4 percent of students can get into rank 1, equivalent to an A+.

However, both absolute and relative evaluation systems will be recorded in report cards to ensure fairness and avoid confusion for students and teachers in the transition to the new rubric, the ministry noted.

In addition, teachers will turn to essay questions and descriptive assessments to measure a student’s learning, marking a seismic shift from the current rote memorization exam format.

The ministry explained that the new evaluation method places a heavy emphasis on creating a more diverse learning environment that can cultivate creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students can learn how to collaborate and communicate with each other in class instead of competing and comparing with peers for higher grades, it added.

Despite concerns that the change in test format could fail in differentiating a student’s learning outcomes, Lee said that the new scheme allows students to be solely determined by how much effort they’ve poured into studying and understanding the course material, calling it the “fairest way” of assessing one’s ability.

In addition, to eradicate what the ministry calls a cartel between public educators and the private education industry involving sales and exchanges of Suneung questions, the test development committee will be composed of members not involved in private institutions and randomly determined through a pool of verified candidates.

The ministry will then request test makers’ tax information from the National Tax Service to see if they have other sources of income, such as money earned by selling exam questions. The members will also be prohibited from profiteering from private education for five years.

The ministry plans to finalize the plans by the end of this year after conducting further consultations with the National Education Commission, a presidential consensus-based committee.

By Park Jun-hee(junheee@heraldcorp.com)