[Opinion] If the Court Continues to Decide CSAT Answers

The correct answer to question 20 of the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Life Science II was canceled by a court ruling. This is the second time, following the cancellation of the correct answer for question 8 of the 2014 CSAT World Geography. In the 2014 lawsuit, the examinees lost in the first trial but won in the second trial in October 2014, after which the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) did not appeal, confirming the cancellation of the correct answer. Subsequently, the World Geography scores were recalculated, and additional students were admitted, causing significant confusion. In the damages lawsuit, students lost in the first trial but won in the second trial; KICE appealed, and the case is still pending at the Supreme Court. In the 2022 lawsuit, the plaintiff won in the first trial, and since KICE did not appeal, the cancellation of the correct answer was confirmed early, thus avoiding much confusion.

The first trial court in the 2014 lawsuit dismissed the case, stating that even if the question was ambiguous or unclear, it was not to the extent that examinees could not select the correct answer. However, the second trial court overturned this decision. It ruled to cancel the correct answer on the grounds that there were procedural defects in handling the objection and that the correct answer should not be determined based on the test setter’s intent.

In the 2022 ruling, unlike the 2014 ruling, the court found no procedural defects in handling the objection but rejected KICE’s response that the validity of the test question is maintained even if the question’s conditions are incomplete. Since KICE’s response was similar to the reasoning of the first trial court overturned in the 2014 second trial, KICE’s handling was criticized as complacent.

During the objection review process, three academic societies were consulted; two responded that there was no problem, but one society withheld its conclusion due to internal disagreement. Among 16 high school teachers and university professors, one expressed an opinion that there was a problem with the question. Considering this, the possibility of canceling the correct answer could have been anticipated in light of the 2014 second trial ruling.

The ruling detailed the problem-solving process. The judge likely did not solve it personally but received expert assistance. However, why did the conclusions of the experts who advised the court differ from those who advised KICE?

The court’s decision prioritizing the examinees’ interests was natural. The responsibility of KICE and the education sector, which caused the situation where the court overturned the CSAT correct answer?a matter of educational expertise?is not light. The Ministry of Education, which discusses follow-up measures for the objection review system while hiding behind the resignation of the KICE president without anyone taking responsibility, also deserves criticism.

However, there is also regret regarding the court’s ruling. Would it not have been better to focus on procedural defects in handling objections rather than errors in the CSAT questions and to respect educational expertise in the ruling? The court found no procedural defects and only addressed substantive defects (errors in the question), but tracing why KICE ignored substantive defects reveals that the procedural defects in the disposition stemmed from underestimating examinees’ harm and evading responsibility by the education authorities. While judging procedural defects is the court’s exclusive domain, judging substantive defects should have been left to educational experts.

Internally, the court could not have skipped the problem-solving process during the data collection for judging procedural defects. However, including that process in the ruling is another matter. If trust in evaluation collapses, education collapses as well. The side effects of the court, which lacks educational expertise, continuing to solve problems should not be underestimated.

If KICE had appealed, it would not be entirely impossible for the appellate court to rule differently. Since creating perfect test questions is not easy, teachers tend to avoid descriptive questions, and similar CSAT lawsuits are likely to increase. Lawsuits to cancel correct answers in school exams, where complaints about answers continue to rise, are also expected. If the court continues to solve test questions, it would be a task that ignores educational expertise.

Song Ki-chang, Professor, Department of Education, Sookmyung Women’s University

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