NHN Supports 'Diagnostic and Training Program' to Improve Basic Academic Skills Declined Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Education platform company NHN Edu supports the improvement of basic academic skills for students affected by COVID-19.

On the 24th, NHN Edu announced, "We are actively conducting attention concentration diagnostic tests and training programs to strengthen basic learning abilities in educational settings."

Recently, students lacking attention concentration due to the spread of COVID-19 have experienced a decline in academic motivation. In fact, last year, when in-person classes were disrupted by COVID-19, the academic performance in major subjects of 9th graders and 11th graders generally declined.

According to the Ministry of Education's '2020 National Level Academic Achievement Assessment Results,' the proportion of middle and high school students below basic academic skills increased compared to the previous year. The percentage of students at Level 1 (below basic academic skills) also expanded for both 9th and 11th graders. Specifically, for 9th grade Korean, the rate of students below basic academic skills was 6.4%, and for English, it was 7.1%, increasing by 2.3 and 3.8 percentage points respectively compared to the previous year. In 9th grade math, the proportion of students below basic academic skills was 13.4%.

In response, NHN Edu has introduced concentration diagnosis (S-CAT) and improvement (Cogmed) programs to educational sites to actively support the enhancement of basic academic skills.

S-CAT and Cogmed are designed to easily and comprehensively assess the attention concentration of children and adolescents at school and home, and provide customized improvement training. In the case of S-CAT, diagnosing a child's attention concentration takes only 10 minutes. It is a mobile brief test officially certified by the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Cogmed is a program that helps improve attention through working memory training for students who fall into the 'borderline' and 'low' categories based on S-CAT test results. Developed in 2001 by the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm, Sweden, related research has actively demonstrated the training effects on working memory. The program can be conducted online at home or school using a PC or tablet with the help of a Cogmed professional coach.

Park Beomjin, Director of NHN Edu's Education Business Division, said, "S-CAT can be administered anytime and anywhere, so it is expected to provide practical help to educational sites and homes," adding, "NHN Edu will do its best to ensure that all children acquire basic academic skills both inside and outside of school."