60% of National Education Commission's Public Participation Members Support Introducing Essay and Descriptive Questions in CSAT

Approval Rate Among Students and Youth Stands at 38%

Among the 10 National Education Committee Public Participation Committee members, 6 responded that it is necessary to introduce essay and descriptive questions in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). However, students who directly take the CSAT showed more opposition.

The National Education Committee under the President held its 42nd meeting on the 20th at the Government Seoul Office to review the major tasks of the draft mid- to long-term national education development plan, which outlines the key educational policy directions for the next 10 years from 2026 to 2035.

Yonhap News

At the 5th Public Participation Committee discussion held last December, when asked about the necessity of introducing essay and descriptive questions in the CSAT, 60% of the participating members answered that partial introduction of such questions is necessary. A total of 133 people participated in this discussion, including 18 students and youth, 37 parents, 58 education officials, and 20 general citizens.

By group characteristics, the approval rates were relatively low among the student and youth group and general citizens, at 38% and 44% respectively. Parents (71%) and education officials (63%) showed high approval rates.

Supporters argued that essay and descriptive evaluations can assess students' competencies more deeply beyond simple memorization and multiple-choice tests, thus fostering talents needed in a changing society, and pointed out that several advanced countries are utilizing such methods.

Opponents raised concerns that preparing for essay and descriptive questions is difficult under the current curriculum, which may lead to an expansion of private education, and that fair evaluation would be challenging, increasing teachers' workload.

As alternatives, suggestions were made to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the grading process or to introduce multiple graders. There were also opinions to first introduce essay and descriptive methods in middle school ethics, philosophy, and morality subjects, as well as in school records and performance assessments, to build social consensus.

Additionally, in the 3rd to 5th discussions, topics such as ▲adjustment of university quotas in response to declining school-age population ▲financial support for private universities ▲establishment of a rational tuition fee system ▲and dualization of the CSAT system were discussed.

Lee Baeyong, chairman of the National Education Committee, stated, "We will continue to gather opinions widely from the public, experts, and educational institutions through various methods and establish a solid plan."

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