Ministry of Education to Implement Improvements in CSAT Question Setting, Review, and Appeal Systems Starting Next Year

Improvement Plan to Be Prepared by February Next Year
No Mention of Compensation Measures for Affected Examinees
Regarding Accountability for Error Controversy Participants,
"The Court Also Stated There Were No Procedural Issues"

On the 10th, students at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are reviewing their CSAT score reports. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education has decided to revise the question creation, review, and objection examination systems following the ruling on the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Life Science II question error, and will apply these changes starting next year.

At a regular briefing on the 20th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will review the question creation and review periods and personnel, question review methods and procedures, and objection examination methods to prevent the possibility of errors in CSAT question creation, and prepare improvement plans by February next year.

To enhance the objectivity, transparency, and independence of CSAT question creation and objection examination, the system will be improved to include ▲ objection examination period ▲ scope and number of advisory academic societies ▲ external expert consultation and objection review methods and standards ▲ composition and operation of the objection examination committee. The improvement plan will also be included in the basic plan for the 2023 CSAT implementation.

Currently, the CSAT objection examination procedure involves forming an objection examination preparation committee for monitoring, requesting consultation from academic societies on serious matters, and then finalizing and announcing the correct answers through the objection examination working committee and objection examination committee.

Additionally, the Ministry will diagnose the causes and problems of the Life Science II question error in the science inquiry area and gather opinions from students, parents, teachers, legal professionals, and experts, including the parties involved in the lawsuit.

The Ministry of Education did not mention disciplinary actions against those involved or compensation plans for examinees who suffered damages related to this CSAT question error. The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), an agency under the Prime Minister’s Office, performs CSAT question creation and grading tasks under the direction of the Ministry of Education.

An official from the Ministry of Education stated, "CSAT tasks are entrusted to KICE, and KICE also operates the answer determination and score calculation notifications. In this process, the Ministry supervises whether KICE operates according to the previously announced plans and procedures. The court also stated that there were no procedural defects. We feel regret and apology for the inconvenience caused to examinees and parents."

Regarding calls for compensation plans for affected examinees and an official apology from the Ministry of Education, the official said, "Following the court ruling, the KICE president acknowledged responsibility and apologized for the changed answers and confusion. In the 2014 World Geography question error controversy, relief was provided when additional successful candidates emerged. However, since only one answer was released this time, we need to check whether there are any legal measures for additional relief."

Due to the CSAT question error, examinees filed lawsuits against KICE, resulting in an unprecedented injunction to suspend the enforcement of the correct answer on the 9th, causing delays in the announcement of Life Science II scores and postponement of early admission announcements, leading to confusion. After the first trial verdict on the 15th, Kang Taejung, president of KICE, eventually resigned. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education stated that there were no "procedural problems" regarding disciplinary actions against those involved.

An official from the Ministry of Education explained, "If the prescribed procedures were not followed, KICE could have disciplinary procedures, but it is difficult to comment on disciplinary actions related to this matter. The system for supervising KICE and the system for its operations are different. Since question creation and grading are entrusted tasks, it is not appropriate for the Ministry to say it will discipline those involved at this stage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.