Seoul elementary schools to increase testing frequency

Elementary schools in Seoul are doing away with the mid-term and final exam system. Beginning this year, tests will be given at the end of each unit for each subject. By implementing this new system of testing, the number of tests elementary students take in one semester will increase from one or two to 30. Yonhap News reported on February 17th that the Office of Education recently submitted documents to a handful of elementary schools in Seoul which outlined the switch to grades-based unit evaluations in Korean, Social Studies, Math, Science, and English. By substituting the current mid-terms and finals with a continual evaluations per subject, the students' achievement of the unit goals will be determined at the end of each unit. Students will take make-up classes if they do not reach the goal.

The Office of Education stated that these continual evaluations will have a diminishing effect on private education. According to the Daily Economy, in addition to changing from mid-term and finals to continual evaluations, grades will also include a record of other student activities. Next month, elementary schools nationwide will cut learning evaluation test subjects from five to two.

Translated by Bret Chernoff