"Out-of-School Youth Should Also Be Guaranteed the Opportunity to Take the Academic Assessment"

Citizens' Coalition for a Society without Academic Elitism:
"Limiting the Assessment to Enrolled Students Is Unfair"
"Gwangju Office of Education Should Advance the Issue through the Council"

There has been a call to guarantee out-of-school youth the opportunity to take the nationwide joint academic assessment. Critics argue that restricting the assessment to only enrolled students infringes upon equal educational opportunities.

On the 14th, when the 2025 academic year October nationwide joint academic assessment for 12th graders was conducted, third-year students at Hyowon High School in Yeongtong District, Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, were writing their names on the answer sheets. Photo by Yonhap News

The civic group "Citizens' Coalition for a Society without Academic Elitism" issued a statement on the 15th, urging, "Guarantee out-of-school youth the opportunity to take the academic assessment," and called on the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to submit this issue to the National Council of Provincial and Metropolitan Superintendents of Education and play a leading role.

According to the group, the nationwide joint academic assessment is a nationwide test jointly administered by provincial and metropolitan offices of education to diagnose the academic achievement levels of first- to third-year high school students. In contrast, the mock College Scholastic Ability Test allows out-of-school youth to participate as well.

The group criticized, "Despite having similar purposes, the academic assessment is operated in a closed manner, which infringes on the right to learn and the principle of equal educational opportunity." They added, "Out-of-school youth are losing opportunities to objectively assess their academic level or make plans for further education." The group further stated, "This also goes against the constitutional principle that 'all citizens have the right to receive an equal education according to their abilities.'"

Since this year, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education has been providing financial support for out-of-school youth to take the mock College Scholastic Ability Test in June and September. While the group evaluated this as a "meaningful measure to guarantee the right to learn for all youth, regardless of whether they are in or out of school," they pointed out, "The academic assessment remains inaccessible on the grounds that it is a matter of agreement among provincial and metropolitan offices of education."

The group emphasized, "Due to these institutional limitations, some youth have even filed constitutional complaints and administrative lawsuits," and urged, "The metropolitan office of education should initiate a nationwide discussion through the agenda of the National Council of Provincial and Metropolitan Superintendents of Education."