170,000 Won Suneung Proctor Allowance... Teachers Demand "Allowance Increase and Staff Expansion"

Survey on the CSAT Site
"Killer Questions Have Not Disappeared
EBS Linkage Rate Below 50%"

Three out of four middle and high school teachers believe that the so-called 'killer questions,' extremely difficult items, were not eliminated from the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) held on the 16th of last month.

According to the results of the 'CSAT Operation System Field Teacher Survey' conducted by the National Secondary School Teachers' Union on the 5th, 75.5% of the responding teachers answered 'No' when asked if they thought the killer questions were removed from this year's CSAT. The survey was conducted from the 17th of last month to the 4th of this month, targeting 4,127 middle and high school teachers nationwide.

When asked whether they thought the EBS linkage rate was over 50% in this year's CSAT, 53.6% answered 'No.'

There were also strong calls for improvements in CSAT registration, test site setup, supervision, and operational environments. 99.3% of teachers responded that the difficulties in supervising and operating the CSAT are significant.

Among the respondents, 94.5% said that 'unnecessary administrative work is being wasted at schools' regarding the CSAT registration method. As an alternative, 96.6% of respondents expressed positive opinions about 'having examinees register individually online.'

Regarding the setup of CSAT test sites, 93.2% of teachers argued that 'external contractors are needed for cleaning and setting up the CSAT test sites.' Currently, 93.9% responded that mainly students from their own schools are responsible for cleaning during test site setup.

"Expansion of CSAT Supervisors and Staff and Increase in Allowances Are Necessary"

Image unrelated to the article content.
Photo by Yonhap News

Teachers expressed the need to expand the number of CSAT supervisors and operational staff and to increase supervisors' allowances.

95.6% of responding teachers said that 'expanding and improving the scope of CSAT supervisors and operational staff' is necessary, and 86.6% thought that the supervisors' allowances are inadequate. This year's basic allowance for CSAT supervisors was 170,000 KRW, 10,000 KRW higher than last year.

Free comments related to the CSAT supervision and operation environment included many grievances such as 'the burden of potential complaints and lawsuits from students is too great,' and 'although chairs were installed for supervisors, they were told not to sit because students in the back rows complained about discomfort.'

Won Juhyun, Policy Director of the Secondary School Teachers' Union, said, "Because it is an important national exam, the operation manual has become increasingly complex and the scope of responsibility has expanded greatly, but the CSAT registration system and supervisor staffing system have remained unchanged for 30 years, causing significant difficulties for teachers," urging for system improvements.

CSAT Supervisors Facing Threats... "I Will Ruin Your Life Too"

Meanwhile, more than two weeks after the 2024 CSAT was held, a tense atmosphere continues with reports of complaints and lawsuits involving parents, students, and education offices, more sensitive than in previous years.

Earlier, on the 17th of last month, a parent known as Mr. A, a former police officer, police academy instructor, and lawyer, reportedly visited the school of a teacher who was a CSAT supervisor on the test day and said, "I am a lawyer, and since you ruined my child's life, I will ruin your life too."

Mr. A's child was caught cheating by a supervisor while marking answers after the test end bell rang at a school in Seoul on the CSAT day. In response, Mr. A held a one-person protest in front of the local education support office on the 17th. His wife also held a one-person protest in front of the school on the 21st of last month.

In response, the Ministry of Education and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education issued a press release on the 24th of last month stating, "We have agreed to thoroughly report teachers who suffer from unfair complaints after detecting cheating on the CSAT and to respond strictly to the parents involved," adding, "This is a very wrongful method of objection that undermines the fairness of the CSAT and appears to be a criminal act such as defamation and threats. The Minister of Education and the Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will jointly file an immediate complaint against the parent involved."

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