The 2019 Scholastic Aptitude Test will be on November 14. As the date of the scholastic aptitude test nears, plans for the future college entrance examinations are being debated. Currently, the government wants to expand the proportion of academic aptitude tests. As a result, the controversy over the pros and cons of the opposition is escalating.

▲ A truck that holds the test papers of SAT is opened by the head of Education office in Daejun.

The opponents of the College Scholastic Ability Test argue that students who are considered to be required by the universities' foundation and departments can be selected because they can often be identified through their extracurricular aspects and personality unlike the CSAT, which only evaluates academic aspects. In addition, students oppose the expansion of the CSAT, saying that expanding the time limit would turn into a problem-solving class format and that students would rely on private education for higher scores.

On the contrary, proponents support the expansion of the CSAT by pointing out the problems of school records. They point out that each high school has an uneven grade. They also argue that even in this situation, it is very unfair to make a grand entrance selection in comparison with school grades. In addition, the college entrance examination, which focuses on school grades, says that even evaluators and students who are appraisers are unsure of the validity and accuracy of school grades. Furthermore, proponents argue that the CSAT is more useful as a means of assessing a student's college scholastic ability because it tests his or her knowledge in a variety of ways unlike high school grades, which can be found only by focusing on schoolwork and studying only in narrow areas.

▲ An official of the Ministry of Education is announcing the basic plan for 2020 SAT.

Against this backdrop, the government said on Saturday that it would drastically improve the overall admission process for students and expand the portion of regular admission based on the CSAT, focusing on universities in Seoul. It also said it would announce the specific percentage of the increase and when it would be applied in November.

November. 11th, 2019
by Jo Won-kyung