Chairman Kim Hyun-gi: "Nation's First Implementation of 'Seoul Student Literacy and Numeracy Basic Skills Diagnostic Test'... Expansion Planned This Year"

With the Launch of the 11th Council in 2022, Commitment to Seoul Education Innovation Declared... Results Achieved in One and a Half Years
Seoul Metropolitan Council Forms Special Committee on Academic Improvement (’22.8.5~’23.8.4) to Prepare Ordinances and Budgets
Council-led 3 Billion KRW Budget Increase... Evaluation Tool Developed, First Implementation in Nov ’23 Targeting 210 Schools and 45,000 Students
This Year, 1.5 Billion KRW Budget Approved to Expand Diagnostic Tests to 300 Schools, Continuing Education Desired by Citizens in Cooperation with the Education Office

Led by the Seoul Metropolitan Council, the ‘Seoul Student Literacy and Numeracy-Centered Basic Academic Skills Diagnostic Test,’ first implemented nationwide last year, will be expanded this year. The council approved a budget of 1.5 billion KRW for this purpose.

Chairman Kim Hyun-ki (People Power Party, Gangnam 3) stated, “We initiated the basic academic skills diagnostic test immediately after the inauguration of the 11th council in July 2022, and have seen results in just a year and a half. The satisfaction level among parents and teachers was high according to the first implementation report meeting (February 20). This year, the diagnostic test will be expanded to 300 schools.”

There are two main reasons why the Seoul Metropolitan Council is actively working to improve basic academic skills. First, the COVID-19 pandemic caused learning loss, leading to an increase in students falling below basic academic standards. Second, despite this, there was no proper diagnostic tool available in the educational field.

The national-level academic achievement assessment, which evaluates students’ basic academic skills, changed in 2017 from a full census evaluation to a sampling evaluation targeting 3% of 9th and 11th graders.

※ Basic Academic Skills (Based on the 2020 National-Level Academic Achievement Assessment)

- Percentage of 11th and 9th graders below basic English proficiency: 3.6% in 2019 → 8.6% in 2020

- Percentage of 11th graders below basic math proficiency: 9% in 2019 → 13.5% in 2020 (1 in 7 students struggling with math)

Chairman Kim said, “Without proper diagnosis, it is impossible to prescribe the right solutions. Basic academic skills are fundamental human rights for children and the foundation for social life, so the council has focused on this issue and taken a leading role in promoting it.”

So far, the Seoul Metropolitan Council formed the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Council Seoul Education Academic Improvement Special Committee’ and, over one year (August 5, 2022 ? August 4, 2023), reviewed existing policies, enacted the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Ordinance on Guaranteeing Basic Academic Skills,’ and led the council to increase the budget for the basic academic skills diagnostic test by 3 billion KRW.

Additionally, through the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s organizational restructuring (July 1, 2023), the basic academic skills support department, which had been at the team level, was elevated to the ‘Teaching and Learning & Basic Academic Skills Support Division.’

The Seoul Metropolitan Council and the Seoul Office of Education developed assessment tools through continuous discussions and conducted the first diagnostic test last November targeting a total of 210 schools and approximately 45,000 students.

The sample included 138 schools and 72 volunteer schools, comprising 107 elementary schools, 58 middle schools, and 45 high schools. The diagnostic test results were provided only to schools and students in January.

On February 20, a report meeting on the implementation of the Seoul Student Basic Academic Skills (Literacy and Numeracy) Diagnostic Test was held at the council. The meeting shared the individual progress and significance of the diagnostic test, implementation results, and the Seoul student literacy tendency survey results.

According to the satisfaction survey on the diagnostic test, 74% of parents (very much so, somewhat) and 76% of teachers (very much so, somewhat) responded that they believed the test accurately diagnosed their children’s basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Chairman Kim Ki-hyun said, “I believe there should be no ideology in education. With the firm belief that this is solely for the future of children, we were able to strongly promote this initiative, cooperate with the Office of Education, and establish a diagnostic test focused on literacy and numeracy that assesses future competencies. We will continue to do our best to work with the Office of Education so that educational policies desired by citizens can be implemented.”

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