[Jeong Gyu-yeong's Presidential Election and College Entrance Exam⑥] Let's Reflect Character Education in University Admissions

Published 28 Jan.2022 11:58(KST)

Proposal for Reforming University Student Selection Methods

Editor's NoteWe are running a series of expert contributions aimed at improving the structural problems of education in the Republic of Korea and suggesting necessary policy directions. This is a proposal by Jung Kyu-young, president of the nonprofit organization 'Gongbuhaneun Seonsu Undonghaneun Haksaeng' (Students Who Study and Athletes Who Exercise). President Jung studied at Stanford Graduate School in the United States and served as president of the university's fencing association. He analyzed the selection process of outstanding students from various countries overseas and the elementary, middle, and high school curricula these students completed. Based on this, since 2008, he has been promoting educational systems that combine study and sports, as well as scholarship projects, to establish the American education system and school sports system domestically. Drawing on his experience, he discusses stories worth referencing in domestic public education and university entrance examination systems.

☞Reference

①Speaking about education to the President of the Republic of Korea

②The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is not a bar exam

③The CSAT should be hope and opportunity for students

④A selection method that nurtures students' 'HOOK' is needed

⑤'Ummi-che' (appreciation and physical education) is as important as Korean, English, and Math

Jung Kyu-young, President of the Studying Athletes Exercising Students Association

As mentioned earlier, I propose introducing interviews and recommendation letters as ways to understand students' diverse talents and character. I believe the current education curriculum lacks proper character education. This is because character education is not conducted sufficiently at schools and homes. In my opinion, this is because it is not reflected in university admissions.

If universities verify students' character through interviews and high school recommendation letters during the student selection process, character education will likely become more active in elementary, middle, and high schools as well as at home. There is even a possibility that character education academies will emerge. Such private education markets are more than welcome.

In the UK, the more prestigious the university, the more interviews are mandatory in the student selection process. Many universities conduct interviews more than twice. During interviews, they carefully verify not only whether the student has excellent academic performance, whether the passion for the intended major stated in the application is genuine, but most importantly, whether the student lacks social awareness. Character verification is a process that goes beyond basic manners to confirm whether the student has proper empathy and contribution as a member of a community.

In the US, prestigious universities also actively reflect student interviews in admissions. They especially value communication with the applicant's high school and the character evaluations written by high school teachers. Even top-ranked applicants nationwide are often rejected by prestigious universities due to poor character evaluation results from their high schools.

So how do American high schools deliver character evaluations of students to universities? Broadly, there are two types: official mandatory evaluations and unofficial optional evaluations. Official evaluations assess students based on 14 character traits, grading them into seven levels from below average to a very small top group, rather than by academic scores. The 14 character traits include respect for faculty and staff, mental maturity, honesty, consideration for others, personality, and qualities.

In unofficial optional evaluations, high school teachers provide additional student information that should be referenced in university admissions. This is delivered in various forms such as phone calls, additional documents, or emails. Unofficial optional evaluations do not apply to all students. High school teachers decide whether to provide this information only if they want to specially inform the university about a student. Usually, this information is not reflected in the student's application but includes achievements or commendations deemed worthy of special recognition. Conversely, information about how unruly a student is, whether they smoke, have tattoos, use foul language frequently, are extravagant, have received unofficial disciplinary actions, or committed dishonest acts is also provided. This information can play a decisive role in university admissions.

For example, a coach of a sports team at Harvard University recommended a student who was excellent both academically and athletically, reaching the quarterfinals in a US competition, to the admissions office. The admissions office also conveyed to the coach that this outstanding student was likely to be admitted. However, the student's high school sent a character evaluation to the university stating, "This student is in the top 3% academically and is at a national team level athletically, but has a very disrespectful attitude toward teachers," resulting in the student's final rejection.

As I have emphasized, physical education, music, and art are as important as history, Korean, English, and math, and character education should be considered the most important education in high school. We acquire considerable knowledge during our 12 years of schooling. However, character is more important than the knowledge gained during this period. When meeting people in society, doing sales, working on team projects, traveling with colleagues, going through hardships, and attending social events, we realize how important character is. Why then is such important education not emphasized in schools? Why is it not reflected more in admissions? The budget used annually to create difficult CSAT questions should now be researched on how to reflect it in character education as well.

Based on the new CSAT and university student selection methods I have proposed so far, I will discuss how to reform elementary, middle, and high school curricula from the next installment.