High School Credit System and College Entrance Reform: "Middle School Grades 8 and 9 Likely to Rely More on Private Education"

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Current 8th graders, who are subject to major admissions reforms such as the 2025 high school credit system and the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) revision plan, along with 9th graders who are the last cohort under the existing CSAT system, are facing the brunt of these changes. While government policy changes are inevitable, students, parents, and education experts expressed concerns that these students will inevitably rely more on private education.

According to the "2028 College Admissions System Reform Draft" announced by the Ministry of Education on the 10th, starting from the 2027 CSAT taken by current 8th graders, the Korean, Math, Social/Science Inquiry, and Vocational Inquiry sections will become common subjects rather than elective subjects. Regarding this, Kim So-yeon (14, Wonju-si, Gangwon), an 8th grader, said on the 12th, "There will be more to learn and the scope of study will be wider," adding, "I will have no choice but to attend more academies."

9th graders, who are the last group under the current CSAT system, unanimously feel the burden that they must enter university as current students. This is because until the 2026 CSAT, Korean and Math include both common and elective subjects, and Social/Science Inquiry and Vocational Inquiry are elective subjects. Na Hee-yeon (15, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi), a 9th grader, said, "Retaking the exam means taking a completely new CSAT, so I think I have to finish the admissions process in one go," adding, "Especially friends aiming for medical schools and top prestigious universities seem to feel more pressure."

On the 6th, students are preparing for the exam at Bangsan High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where the September mock test for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test was held. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Lee, a parent of a 9th grader (45, Gangnam-gu, Seoul), said, "The college admissions reform plan is complicated, so it is difficult to prepare without private education consulting," adding, "In the end, dependence on academies will increase."

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the Admissions Strategy Research Institute at Jinhaksa, explained, "According to the announced reform plan, 8th graders have to prepare for both school grades and the CSAT," adding, "Since absolute and relative evaluation scores will be recorded together, universities will inevitably complicate the calculation methods or increase admissions tracks that comprehensively reflect school grades, extracurricular activities, and CSAT scores." He predicted, "9th graders will have to study both common social studies and common science in the revised CSAT, and for math, depending on whether they choose advanced math, they will have to study Calculus II and Geometry as well. There will be a trend to avoid retaking the exam as much as possible and to apply safely."

On the other hand, there is also analysis from the perspective of students who actually retake the exam that excessive changes will not occur. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, said, "It is true that there is pressure when inquiry subjects are changed to integrated subjects, especially if scores in Physics and Chemistry are low," adding, "Since the content will be from common subjects already studied in 10th grade, it will not be at a level that is difficult to overcome."