As gov't moves to overhaul college admissions process, cram schools eye new market

With the government planning to introduce constructed-response and essay questions on the multiple-choice College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), cram schools are pre-emptively launching new courses to prepare students for the upcoming format.

An instructor who has been teaching college admissions essay writing in Daechi-dong — a neighborhood in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, considered a private education hub — plans to open a new academy in December to help elementary school students prepare for essay-style questions, especially since the government is also considering incorporating constructed-response and essay questions in middle and high school curricula.

“The number of inquiries [about the new CSAT format] from elementary school students’ parents has already increased significantly,” the instructor said. “I plan to run classes for younger students in line with the growing recognition that students need to build their literacy and writing skills from elementary school to prepare for high school.”

The National Education Commission (NEC) announced on Aug. 3 that it is considering various overhauls to the university admissions process — including introducing constructed-response and essay questions to the CSAT starting in 2033, when current sixth graders will take the exam — to help with students’ critical thinking skills in the age of AI. The commission stated that it will listen to public opinion before unveiling its final plan in October.

Another reading and essay-writing academy in Daechi-dong has already put more than 1,000 sixth-graders on its waiting list since the NEC’s announcement.

“Since the beginning of this month, we’ve been receiving more than 10 calls a day,” a representative of the academy said.

An essay-writing academy — specifically for middle and high school students — in Mok-dong in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, decided to launch a special course for sixth-graders this winter.

The overall number of cram schools registered in southern Seoul’s Gangnam and Seocho districts rose just 2.2 percent over the past five years, from 3,687 in May 2021 to 3,768 in May. But the number of Korean-language and essay-writing academies surged 35.5 percent over the same period, from 110 to 149.

“If constructed-response and essay assessments, which are already included in school exams, are introduced on the CSAT, this will inevitably place a considerable burden on students and parents,” Lim Seong-ho, the head of Jongro Academy, said. “As the perception that students need to prepare [for the CSAT] well in advance grows, so will the related private education market.”

Math and English academies are also keeping an eye on the college admissions overhaul.

“Three out of every 10 parents ask whether we prepare students for constructed-response and essay questions at school,” said the head of a math cram school in Cheongna, Incheon. “We’re planning to operate a new curriculum tailored to constructed-response and essay questions on the CSAT and the possible increased weight of such assessments in school.”

The NEC reported the overhaul plans, as well as those to shift all CSAT subjects and high school classes to an absolute grading system, to President Lee Jae Myung on Aug. 5.

The president expressed his support for the change, saying that the current multiple-choice CSAT “standardizes and damages children in the AI era simply to make grading easier for adults.”

The civic education group World Without Worry About Private Education (translated) has also welcomed the plan.

“We positively receive the [government’s] direction to reform college admissions and school assessments,” the civic group said in a statement on Aug. 6. “It is meaningful that the government has begun directly addressing the problems of […] college admissions and uniform ranking-based grading that distort education.”

But concerns are mounting over the increasing role of private education and fairness.

“It’s a more appropriate way to assess and develop children’s abilities than having them solve multiple-choice questions,” acknowledged a parent who lives in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, referring to the move to introduce constructed-response and essay questions. “But I feel like I’ll have no choice but to send my younger child, who is in second grade right now, to an essay-writing academy, meaning that our private education expenses will increase.”

Teachers also stated that their inevitably heavier workload will need to be addressed.

“With constructed-response and essay assessments, teachers will not only face a greater burden regarding grading and record-keeping but will also have to deal with [students’ and their parents’] appeals for a better grade and related complaints, audits and liability from lawsuits,” said Kim Hee-jung, the chair of a union for secondary school teachers.

While the change could encourage students to develop their critical thinking skills in the age of AI, new policies must first be carefully designed to minimize confusion.

“The reality is that the current college admissions system cannot cultivate the kind of talent that the future demands,” Park Jin, a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, said. “But if the curriculum is not revised first so that students can take discussion- and essay-based classes throughout all three years of high school before constructed-response and essay questions are introduced on the CSAT, the change could end up fueling the private education market, which could teach students only writing techniques and strategies for composing answers.”

BY LEE BO-RAM [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]