 A mother of a student taking the College Scholastic Ability Test prays for a good result at Incheon Girls’ High School in Incheon, Thursday. About 690,000 applicants took the annual state-administered test at some 1,200 venues. / Yonhap |
By Na Jeong-ju, Yun Suh-young
Some 690,000 applicants took the annual state-administered college entrance exam at some 1,200 venues Thursday, with both test writers and students saying the exam was easier than before.
All landings and take-offs at airports were put on hold and car drivers lowered their speed near the test sites during listening comprehension exams so as not to disturb students. Traffic was banned from within 200 meters of the test places until the nine-hour-long exam finished at 5:35 p.m.
As in previous years, families, friends and school juniors of test-takers gathered around the venues, cheering and wishing all the best for them. Some parents accompanied their children in the morning to encourage and relax them. Some were seen praying outside schools where they were taking the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
‘Hit CSAT jackpot’
In front of Pungmoon Girls’ High School in Seoul, one of the test centers, about 60 students and parents gathered early in the morning to wish good luck to applicants entering the school.
They shouted “Sooneung Daebak!,” which means “Hit the jackpot on the CSAT!,” every time a student arrived in front of the school gate. School juniors of the same high school encouraged their seniors, saying, “Do well in the exam, dear senior.”
Parents stood in front of the gate anxiously looking through its bars during test hours.
“I’ve been praying for a year,” said Chung Soo-hee, a 77-year-old grandmother of a student. “I’m here on behalf of her parents. I’m so anxious. I hope she does well.”
Inside the school building, the atmosphere was tense. Just before the test began, students took a last-minute look at their notebooks and textbooks. Some closed their eyes praying.
The test also drew attention from international media.
A correspondent from Kyusu-Asahi Broadcasting Company said he was there to report on the event because the Japanese are fascinated by the cheering on the sidelines.
“In Japan, parents don’t come in front of schools to cheer for their children. The Japanese are very much interested in this kind of scene,” he said.
The weather was unusually mild. Chilly weather used to hit the nation on the day of the test, but this wasn’t the case this year.
One applicant was expelled from the test in Seoul after being caught trying to cheat.
The student entered the venue with a portable wireless receiver, a mobile phone and a data transmission device. The applicant, who has a disability, attempted to take advantage of the longer test time given to disabled students in order to receive answers through them, according to the education ministry.
“An investigation is now underway to see whether there were any similar violations in the past and who helped the student,” a ministry spokesman said. “The student admitted having the intention of cheating.”
Higher scores expected
The annual test, consisting of five sections — Korean language, mathematics, English, social and natural sciences and a second foreign language — is crucial for students when applying to their favored universities. Four-year colleges and universities nationwide plan to admit 328,119 freshmen for the 2012 academic year.
The ministry said the number of test-takers dropped 2.6 percent from last year to 693,634, of which about three-quarters were high school students and 22 percent were graduates. Applicants will be individually notified of their test scores on Nov. 30.
“We took some 70 percent of questions from CSAT workbooks published by the public broadcaster EBS to make the test easier,” Lee Heung-soo, the chief test writer, told reporters. “Students could expect higher scores than average. In each section, 1 percent of applicants should be able to get a perfect score.”
Meanwhile, a civic group opposing college admission exams held a rally in front of Seoul Finance Center.
In a statement, it called on the government to drop the competition-oriented education system and initiate measures to help children live with dignity and nurture their potential, while not being evaluated by test scores.
The protest was joined by 18 students who have quit school and their parents.
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