"Allow COVID-Positive Students to Take Midterms"… Ministry of Education Sticks to 'Acknowledged Scores' Policy

Parents "Should Be Given the Choice Between Recognized Scores or Taking the Exam"
Absence or Recognized Scores Granted as a Principle When Students Test Positive
Average of 35,000 Students Confirmed Daily... Frequent Absences Inevitable

On the 24th, the 2022 academic year March National Joint Academic Achievement Test was conducted for 950,000 high school students from grades 1 to 3 nationwide. Students in grade 3 at Jamsin High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, are taking the exam. This academic achievement test is being held simultaneously nationwide on the same day for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] From the end of this month to early next month, midterm exams will be held at schools nationwide. As confirmed cases continue to surge daily, students and parents are anxiously worried that they might test positive for COVID-19 and be unable to take the exams. There is also a strong demand to provide exam opportunities reflecting the situation of large-scale infections.

On the 7th, a petitioner who identified themselves as a high school student's parent posted on the Blue House National Petition Board, stating, "It is unfair to prevent only the students who test positive from taking the exam when schools allow attendance without knowing whether it is the incubation period or not," and urged, "Please allow students to choose either to receive a recognized score or to take the exam." This petition has currently received 13,850 endorsements.

The petitioner added, "Many schools grant recognized scores to students who test positive, but it is certain that not taking the exam will lower their academic records," and argued, "Since it is a heavy burden to leave the decision to the school principal's discretion, the Ministry of Education should provide guidelines."

The Ministry of Education has maintained the practice of granting recognized scores to students confirmed positive during midterm and final exam periods since the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the 2020 academic year, the attendance, evaluation, and record guidelines have specified that "students who do not attend evaluation due to school attendance suspension will be marked as absent (granted recognized scores)." Recognized scores refer to substituting the missed exam scores with converted scores from previously taken exams.

A Ministry of Education official stated, "After reviewing the evaluation of confirmed cases during the first semester of the 2022 academic year, it was decided to continue granting recognized scores for midterm and final exams as before, and consultations with metropolitan and provincial education offices will follow."

Regarding the reason for granting recognized scores, the official explained, "School exams take place over 3 to 5 days and involve large-scale student movement. Considering classroom situations, the deployment of supervising teachers, and travel between home and school comprehensively, it was judged that it is practically impossible for confirmed students to take midterms face-to-face unless quarantine guidelines change."

Although the Omicron variant pandemic peaked and is easing in April, about 300,000 confirmed cases are still reported daily on average, so it is expected that many students will be unable to take exams. From March 29 to April 4, the number of confirmed cases among nationwide kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students was 250,553, averaging 35,793 per day.

A parent of a middle school student said, "If a family member tests positive, it is common for parents to get infected and then the children in succession. I am worried that my child might not even be able to take the exam ahead of the midterm period."

The Ministry of Education holds the position that it is difficult to provide exam opportunities for confirmed cases because quarantine is the principle set by health authorities. Creating separate exception criteria without changing guidelines would also raise fairness issues with students who previously received recognized scores.

A Ministry of Education official said, "Since the 2020 academic year, recognized scores have been granted to students in quarantine due to COVID-19, but until quarantine guidelines change to allow close contacts to avoid quarantine if negative, both close contacts and confirmed cases are subject to quarantine and thus granted recognized scores. Many students missed exams due to close contact quarantine at that time, and granting exam opportunities now just because confirmed cases have increased would be unfair. Without changes in quarantine guidelines, it is difficult to break the principle."

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