(image via www.coronahs.org)

High Stakes Testing in South Korean schools.

A quick disclaimer. South Korea has been my home for almost three years and I love it here. So much so, that I am wanting to live here permanently for the foreseeable future. South Korea and I are a good match, we're "that" couple that people envy. However, that doesn't mean that I agree with all aspects of the culture. This is where South Korea and I agree to disagree. Our biggest disagreement with one another is the strong pressures placed on students by high stakes testing.

Testing in Korea background

Testing and Korea, they are synonymous with each other. South Korea is a test-based society, in every aspect of the word. Test taking to succeed is a Confucian principal deeply rooted into the culture here. Do you want to go to a top performing middle school? There's a test for that! Do you want to go a prestigious high school? There's a test for that. Do you want to attend university? There's a test for that. Do you want to succeed in life by attending a SKY university or do you want to be "mediocre" and be considered a "failure" at life by going to a university outside of the SKY system? There's a test for that! Wait, there's THE test for that. That's right, I said THE test. The single most important "high stakes" test in a Korean's life is the CSAT (Collegiate Scholastic Ability Test). In Korean, it is known informally as 수능 (suneung). The CSAT is administered by KICE-Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation. 

(Image via www.reuters.com)

This CSAT determines EVERYTHING. Let that sink in for a moment, EVERYTHING. Your path in life is determined by this one test. This test can open or close doors for Koreans.  This test is so important that all inbound and outbound air traffic into Incheon International Airport is rerouted or delayed until the listening porting of the test has been completed. Mothers and grandmothers make pilgrimages to temples to pray for a successful passing score. Police officers escort or drive students to the test centers to ensure that they arrive on time. The CSAT is that important. I suppose if it determined my whole future, I would run directly to the police car so that I could be the first one to be dropped off (or maybe I would have them drive me to the airport?!). 

(Image via www.collegelah.com)

In the first paragraph of this blog, I mentioned that most Korean students aspire to attend a SKY university. What is SKY? It is an acronym for Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University; the three most prestigous schools in South Korea. The SKY system can be compared to the United States' Ivy League system. In talking with many of my Korean friends; most of their parents dreamed of them attending a SKY university. Many parents believe that acceptance to one of these three opens the door to a "salaryman" position with a South Korean conglemorate known as "chaebol." Chaebols are the large family dynastic corporations that helped turn around South Korea. In the 1950's; South Korea was a poor society receiving aid from the UN. Now, South Korea is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. It is nicknamed the "Miracle on the Han." (The Han River is the river that runs through the city of Seoul, many top Korean companies are headquartered in skyscrapers that sit along the Han River. South Korea has few natural resources and it is widely believed that educating people is a natural resource. In fifty years, South Korea went from an agrarian society to a high technically advanced society. What chaebols do most students dream of landing a career with? Samsung, LG, Hyundai, CJ, Hanjin, and Hanhwa. Samsung is considered to be the most prestigious company to work for. Every year thousands of students test for a position within Samsung, fewer than 500 are accepted. 

(This is the Jamsil area of Seoul, home to the 100 story Lotte Tower, the Han river runs through the city, this image is via www.designboom.com)

(Hogwan signs, image via www.listenandlearn.org)

For these reasons alone, this is why parents send their kids to hogwans (private academies) in addition to attending school. Many of my students attend school from 8 to 5 then take a bus to their hogwan where they are in class until 10PM at night. The Korean government has "capped" how late hagwons can stay open. The mandated time is 10PM; however, many students student late into the hours of the night. Hagwons are a huge money maker in Korea. In my neighborhood alone, there are over 15 hagwons within 600 feet from my apartment door.  Parents send their kids to hagwons in hope that it will prepare them to take the CSAT.

However, now there is a flood of college graduates who are unemployed in South Korea. These graduates sacrificed their childhoods and studied hard. Their parents pushed them hard so they would be accepted into a SKY University and now they are unemployed or working as a barista or clerk at eMart. In my opinion, college is not for everyone. When I ask my students what they want to be, they all answer "I want to be a doctor." Or if I ask them what they want to study, they reply "business." I ask them why and they respond "because my parents told me to." In confusion culture; parents have a stronger "hold" or more "say-so" over their children. Because of the age culture; children must comply. I have a story regarding a Korean friend of mine, but I will change his name. Last year when I lived and worked on an island, one of the Korean teachers who became a good friend of mine would drive me to the city on weekends. One Sunday, when driving back to the ferry terminal, he was noticeably quiet. I asked him what was wrong, he was quiet. I said to him, "hey,I'm a foreigner, you know that, tell me." (as a foreigner, we are not part of the hierarchy nor are we bound to its social rules and norms and many Koreans view us as more "open-minded). Westerners aren't necessarily more open-minded, it's just that Koreans believe that we are. He broke down and said that he doesn't like being a teacher, at all. It's not what he wants to do. He said that he loves working with plants and nature, and that he wanted to be a horticulturalist. I told him to pursue and do it, and that "you only live once." My Korean friends are familiar with YOLO (you only live once). He said "no, I can't, I have to study hard for the teacher exam, my parent's said that I have to." I told him that he is 27 years old and an adult. I told him that he earns his own money. I told him to stop driving the car that his parents bought him (so he woudn't be "bound" to them). I told him to do it. One year later, he is still teaching on the island. 

How tests are administered at my school.

I now know how it feels to star in a James Bond movie; the secrecy involving tests here is intense! For both the semester midterm and final exams; I submit approximately 40 to 50 multiple choice questions to each of my co-teachers (for each grade level). They, in turn, add the questions to the exams. The exams have 2 printed copies; a newspaper style print where students write their answers (to show their work) and a bubble sheet (similar to US scan tron tests).Student are not allowed to visit or open the door to the Teacher's office room! Questions are secretive and are not to be discussed or mentioned with students (Which is the same everywhere, I believe). Each semester exam period lasts two days. Students take tests in each of their respective classes. There are no books, notes, or cellular phones allowed. Talking is prohibited. Every staff member is on a test supervision rotation to make sure there is no cheating on the tests. Students study hard (cram) for about two weeks before the test. They study frequently at their hagwons and at libraries or in study groups. They don't go to the PCBang (PCBang means PC Room, which are rooms that charge $6 an hour for students to play online video games; the internet speeds there are the fastest in the world). There is no playing, or hanging out with friends. It is an eat, breath, test, culture for two weeks leading up to the test. After the tests, students celebrate by going to PCRooms, or going to the water park with friends. They deserve a much needed break!

Downside of high stakes testing in Korea. 

The pressure placed on students to do well on this test is unbelievable. Because of the high demands of the education system here; suicide is the leading cause of death of students in Korea. In fact, according to the World Health Organization; South Korea is number one amongst OECD nations for death by suicide.

As a teacher here, I have seen first hand the intense pressure to study hard (and test well) has affected my students. One of my favorite students recently took his semester final English test; he is one of my brightest students and always works very hard. I asked him how he did no his English test, he said that he failed! I know him well, he is intelligent and he studies very hard. I said to him "no, you didn't, no way!" I asked him to tell me his score. He told me it was a 97. I told him that he should be very proud and that I would buy him an ice cream from the school store. His response was "no!" He looked down to the floor and told me that he failed because it was not a perfect score. Having that conversation broke my heart because he is a kind, caring, and good student. He is the student that every teacher dreams of having in their class. 

Between regular school, attending after school hogwan, and studying late into the night, my kids are tired and their brains are "mush" sometimes. Staying awake in class can be a difficult task for them. I feel that all of the studying have turned them into zombies. In a confucian test culture, students sit and listen to teachers lecture to "absorb" the knowledge being dispensed. Some days, it is difficult getting my students to focus. Creativity and critical thinking is not a high priority when "teaching for tests." Last semester while teaching one of my English classes, my co-teacher pulled me aside told me to stop asking "why" because it confuses Korean students. I told her after class that the reason I ask why is because I want to know how the students arrived at their answer. I explained that the students need to "know the why," because if they didn't know how they arrived at the answer; they would quickly forget what was taught. I know my students can be creative and they can critical think when given the opportunity. 

However, that mindset is changing. There is a movement here in Korea to overhaul the education system. I am not criticizing or saying that the western system is better (because it certainly has its flaws), but I see the tired and anxious eyes of my students. Recently, the Busan Office of Education (Busan is the second largest city) announced that they are doing away with multiple choice questions on tests and moving to essay style answers for all elementary school tests. In an article in The Korean Herald, Busan superintendent Kim Seok-joon is quoted as saying "With the method of cramming, memorizing and picking answers, we cannot deal with the ever-changing society of the fourth industrial revolution."  

As I write this blog; the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is making news headlines by wanting to reevaluate their testing system as well by allowing open book testing. In the Korean times; Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon is quoted as saying...

"Innovation inside classrooms leads to an innovation of evaluation. We are considering options to innovate these evaluation procedures such as introducing open book tests." We are thinking about what we can do at the education office level in response to the major innovative changes in the scholastic ability test and the absolute evaluation of school grades, I have raised the possibility of changing the majority of class tests to include open book tests to the task force currently researching evaluation methods."

                                                                                (Cho Hee-yeon, Korea Times, 2017). 

Though it may not sound like it, but those ideas are sending shock waves through out South Korea. All of those ideas were unheard of a few years ago and I believe are a positive step in the right direction! Kids need to be kids. Whether they are in South Korea or the USA; I feel high stakes testing places immeasurable stress on students and it doesn't show a true "picture" of their ability. Think about it, aren't we all nervous when we take tests? What if we studied and studied for our test and then "blanked out" when we sat down to take it. Remember, one test determines our future's outcome. What if the test taker is extremely bright but didn't take the test well. Food for thought. 

(Image via www.seoulspace.co.kr)

My school versus a private elementary and middle school in the USA.

In thinking about how my school (and Korea) administers high stakes testing, I had the opportunity to work with my Teach-Now colleague, Lindsey. We both teach at private schools. Lindsey informed me that the students participate in high stakes exams but they isn't as large as an emphasis on the results as there are here in Korea. The tests are still important at Lindsey's school but without the "bearing" that test results have here. I am sometimes envious of the environment that Lindsey teaches in because it lacks the "competitiveness" of the environment here. When I play games or English activities with my students; they become brutally competitive. They tell on each other or accuse each of cheating, frequently. There are times when I have paused the game and I have to calm them down and tell them that it's "only a game and to relax." I feel sad that many of my students are unable to relax and enjoy the game. I don't think it's necessarily their fault, they've been groomed in a competitive atmosphere their whole life. 

As far as what Lindsey indicated about students not being too worried about their scores makes me feel sad. Not for her students, but for my students. They get really stressed before exams, understandably so, I just wish I could make them feel better and less stressed. After exams have been completed, there are two weeks until vacation break. In this time, we play fun games (that are not related to the textbook or material). It is sort of my "thank you" to the students for working so hard and being such good students. I love my students; they work hard, but they are kind and fun to teach. In that sense, I am truly lucky. 

Lindsey's school is similar to mine in that teacher evaluations and performance raises are not tied to high stakes testing (students' outcomes).  I feel grateful that my salary is not tied to student test scores; I don't think I would like that "pressure." It places an unfair burden on the teacher and the students. I feel that it would cause teachers to only "teach for the test." In the Korean system, if salary were tied to academic performance, then we would all be millionaires. Korean students perform very well on high stakes tests! Thank you for reading my blog! 

References

Busan to remove objective tests from elementary schools. (2017, April 27). The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 21; 2017 from: 
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170427000706

Hu, E. (2016, April 19). To The List Of High-Stakes Tests In Korea, Add The Samsung SAT. Retrieved July 21, 2017 from: 
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/04/19/474621999/to-the-list-of-high-stakes-tests-in-korea-add-the-samsung-sat

Lee, H. (2017, July 11). Chief educator mulls 'open book' at Seoul schools. Retrieved July 21, 2017 from: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/07/181_232774.html