Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education: "Comprehensive Evaluation of Academic Achievement Self-Assessment is an Oxymoron"

Concerns Raised Over 'Comprehensive Evaluation' of Academic Achievement Self-Assessment
"Should Allow Autonomous Application and Implementation at School and Class Levels"

On the 25th, when the nationwide mock exam for high school seniors was conducted, examinees at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul, were checking their test papers. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has clearly expressed its opposition to reverting the 'customized academic achievement assessment' back to a census evaluation.

On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "'Autonomous evaluation' being conducted as a 'census survey' is a contradiction in terms. As originally guided by the Ministry of Education, schools should be allowed to apply and implement it autonomously at the school level."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "In the past, through nationwide standardized tests, school-specific scores were disclosed, and school evaluations were used as key indicators for the allocation of special grants by metropolitan and provincial offices of education, which caused many side effects in the educational field. We have listened to concerns that conducting the 'customized academic achievement autonomous evaluation' as a census evaluation could reproduce the side effects of the standardized test era, and we are reviewing measures to guarantee basic academic skills through the use of various diagnostic tools."

The national-level academic achievement assessment has been conducted since 2017 using a 3% sampling method targeting 9th graders and 11th graders instead of a census evaluation. Its main purpose is to provide basic data for curriculum improvement along with measuring the degree of achievement of educational goals.

Since September this year, the Ministry of Education has introduced and implemented the 'customized academic achievement autonomous evaluation.' The autonomous evaluation is computer-based and operates to analyze student achievement characteristics and provide customized information. The Ministry of Education has guided that participation is voluntary based on school preference.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education pointed out, "Various evaluations are already being conducted in schools according to their purposes, and these evaluations should be viewed separately."

Concerns about the revival of census evaluation have spread following President Yoon Seok-yeol's statement at the Cabinet meeting on the 11th that "all schools that want to participate in the academic achievement census evaluation, which was abolished by the previous government, will be allowed to do so." The Ministry of Education conducts the national-level academic achievement assessment by sampling and the customized academic achievement assessment for schools that apply, but the president's remarks could be interpreted as converting the sampling evaluation into a census evaluation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education emphasized, "Most schools use the 'Basic Academic Skills Diagnosis-Correction System,' which diagnoses students' weak areas by subject and provides customized correction materials based on individual student test results. Just as important as diagnosing and selecting students who need academic support due to insufficient basic skills is providing careful support for those students."

The Basic Academic Skills Diagnosis-Correction System is an evaluation tool developed by Chungnam National University’s Applied Educational Measurement and Evaluation Institute and the Korea Education and Research Information Service, operated by metropolitan and provincial offices of education, which diagnoses learning deficits in students' subject areas.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to announce measures to strengthen the guarantee of basic academic skills, including the diagnosis of basic academic skills, selection of students below academic standards, and support measures for those students.

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