Notification of Report Cards Without Life Science II Scores... Ministry of Education "Will Consult with Universities on Future Schedule"

Ministry of Education "Life Science II Grades Will Be Provided Later"
Plans to Inform Future College Admission Schedule After Consultation with Universities

On the morning of the 3rd, when the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, examinees at the test site in Gyeongbok High School, Jongno-gu, Seoul, received test papers and marked their answer sheets.

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), this year's CSAT was postponed by two weeks and was simultaneously conducted at 1,383 test centers in 86 test districts nationwide, with a record low of 493,433 examinees. 2020.12.3

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Following the decision to suspend the enforcement of the correct answers for the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Life Science II subject, the Ministry of Education announced on the 10th that the score reports distributed will leave the Life Science II subject blank, and the corresponding scores will be notified later.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Education stated, "The scoring results will be notified to the test takers as scheduled, and the Life Science II scores of 6,515 students affected by the court's suspension order will be provided later."

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation will promptly consult with the Korea Council for University Education and universities to provide guidance on future college admission schedules and other necessary matters.

The Ministry of Education expressed, "We hope that the ongoing lawsuit to cancel the Life Science II answer key decision proceeds swiftly so that there will be no disruption to subsequent college admission schedules."

On the same day, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 6 accepted the injunction request filed by 92 Life Science II test takers against the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, deciding to suspend the validity of the correct answers until the main trial verdict. The first hearing for the main lawsuit is scheduled for the 10th.

The court ruled, "Even if it may cause some disruption to the college admission schedule, a swift trial of the main case can minimize the disruption, and suspending enforcement until the main case verdict does not pose a risk of adversely affecting the public welfare."

The admissions industry views recognizing all the disputed questions as correct as the best way to reduce confusion. The final announcement of early admission successful candidates is on the 16th, and the regular admission application period starts on the 30th. If all disputed questions are accepted as correct, the highest standard score for Life Science II (69 points) is expected to drop by about 1 to 2 points. The disputed question is worth 2 points, and according to EBS statistics, the correct answer rate for Life Science question number 20 was 24.6%.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, said, "The most stable method would be for the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation to immediately re-score and reprocess the scores by tomorrow," adding, "If the trial proceeds after both early and regular admissions have ended and the results are overturned, further confusion is inevitable, and the admission results for both early and regular rounds could change."

If the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation maintains its position that there is no issue with the correct answers and the trial prolongs, confusion cannot be ruled out. If the trial results are reversed later, scores will have to be recalculated. The 2014 CSAT is a representative case. At that time, students raised objections to question number 8 in the social studies world geography section and filed an injunction against the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation's decision. The court rejected the injunction request, but about 10 months later, in October 2014, after the second trial ruled in favor of the students, the scores were recalculated.

Regarding Life Science II question number 20, students and the admissions industry argued that "since no group can simultaneously satisfy the conditions presented in the question, the question is flawed and should be marked correct for all." The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation maintained its existing position of no issue at the answer announcement on the 29th of last month, stating that "even if the conditions of the question are incomplete, the validity of the evaluation question is maintained."