By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
The government announced Monday the results of the controversial state-administered, standardized tests taken by nearly two million students at every primary and secondary school across the nation.
It is the first time the government has disclosed test results of schools grouped by city provincial education offices.
About 10 percent of middle and high school students failed to meet basic academic levels on the tests, conducted in October. The results also showed a wide gap in academic records among 16 cities and provinces and 180 education offices nationwide.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said it would provide intensive support programs for some 1,200 schools that ranked poorly. At the same time, it will grant incentives to well-performing schools.
``Some parents and teachers are worried the assessment tests will rank schools, but they are clearly meant to diagnose problems with each school,'' Education Minister Ahn Byong-man said during a press conference. ``We will give incentives to schools that improve test scores. Schools with poor scores will get some support but will also be held accountable if they continue to fail to improve.''
The nation's top educator added that egalitarian education policies of former governments caused more students to fail to meet basic academic levels. The ministry will disclose the number of ``behind students'' at each school from 2011 and the results will be used for the management of teachers.
In response, groups of progressive teachers and parents criticized the ministry, claiming the government is trying to create unnecessary competition among schools and place more burdens on the shoulders of parents and students.
``We doubt mere test scores can reveal whether teachers are teaching students well or not,'' said Eum Min-yong, spokesperson of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union (KTU). ``The government is driving schools to compete, ignoring the true meaning of education. If they push ahead with their plans, we will continue to fight them,'' Eum added. So far, a total of 12 KTU member teachers have been fired for resisting the state test.
Among Seoul and other major cities, Seoul showed the largest number of students who failed the tests, while Busan, Daejeon and Gwangju had relatively smaller numbers of students falling behind basic levels.
Although Seoul achieved poor results, students in Gangnam, an affluent area in southern Seoul, outperformed students in those regions by wider margins. For instance, over 95 percent of Gangnam students showed above average levels in English.