Opening pathways to college entrance

By Rebecca Gardner

With Korea's college entrance exam results being released last Friday, students across the country found out whether or not they had achieved the score they were aiming for.

It's remarkable that years of study come down to just one marathon test day, as the annual College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), or "suneung" in Korean, was taken by over 500,000 students nationwide between 8:40 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 17. As in previous years, airplanes were grounded and working hours were adjusted to make sure the test takers were not disrupted.

Given the national focus on the CSAT, it would be easy to presume that this test is the only pathway for students in Korea to university. But something interesting has been happening this year. After years of consultations involving the Daegu and Jeju offices of education, a select group of Korean public schools are now offering International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas with both English and Korean language elements.

IB is a program for students aged 16 to 19 developed by the nonprofit foundation of the same name based in Switzerland.

I have personally witnessed the IB diploma's benefits firsthand in international school settings across multiple countries, including in my current role as IB coordinator at an international school in Seoul.

IB diploma students acquire key real-world skills and academic knowledge that will benefit them well beyond university and throughout their professional careers. Most importantly, the program teaches students how to ask challenging questions and think critically. According to IB itself, the program "aims to develop students who have excellent breadth and depth of knowledge ― students who flourish physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically."

As a result, IB diploma recipients are well-positioned to grow as global citizens who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, go on to make a positive difference in the world.

The IB diploma is holistic, meaning it covers six subject groups alongside other components such as creativity, activity, service (CAS), theory of knowledge (TOK) and the extended essay. Maintaining this breadth of subjects is immensely appealing to colleges and future employers as students are able to speak an additional language to a high standard, maintain knowledge of the social sciences, exploratory sciences and mathematical competency as well as be well-read, analytical and creative thinkers. Students can transfer concepts between subject areas and disciplines from a variety of global perspectives.

Students taking the academically rigorous IB program are assessed both internally and externally for their coursework and a series of exams, rather than relying on their performance on a single test day. The extended essay is an independent, self-directed research project in order to produce a 4,000-word paper.

The range of topics that I see students covering for this extended essay is incredibly diverse ― from intense philosophical questions to contemporary economics ― but it is also excellent preparation for writing at college, where courses may start with 2,000-word essay assignments.

Although students need a minimum number of points to be awarded the IB diploma, it is also subject to overall performance and completion of creativity, activity, service (CAS) requirements. As with the extended essay, CAS activities can be wide-ranging. Recent examples that I've seen students undertake include organizing a blood donation drive to support the pandemic-related shortage, tutoring younger children from local Korean schools and fundraising for "Volunteer for the Visayans," a community-based program in Tacloban, the Philippines.

All these elements contribute to making the IB diploma renowned worldwide ― an ideal college entrance pathway compared with non-IB programs such as Advanced Placement (AP) in the United States. In fact, the acceptance rate of IB students into Ivy League universities is up to 18 percent higher than the total population acceptance rate, according to a 2018 survey of more than 4,000 students by the International Insight Research Group.

Meanwhile, IB diploma holders are three times more likely to enroll at a top 20 higher education institution in the United Kingdom compared with peers who took the national standard A Levels, according to the U.K. Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). It's clear that universities value the program's holistic approach as much as advocates like myself do. It helps that it is broadly recognized around the world, as there are nearly 2 million students in 160 countries enrolled in IB programs across over 5,600 recognized IB schools ― the highest number of which (1,914) are in the U.S.

Once at university, IB diploma holders are prepared to thrive because they have already acquired critical skills such as how to research independently, complete coursework alongside examinations, manage time, lead, collaborate and pursue extracurricular activities that harness a side passion or give back to the community. I have heard this from so many students, and parents of students, who have gone on to universities such as Columbia, MIT, Dartmouth and Oxford.

To this day, I regularly hear from my school's alumni who tell me how much better prepared they felt than their non-IB peers. This was true for graduates who went to universities in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the U.K. or across Europe. The numbers speak for themselves. In the U.K., students holding an IB diploma were 40 percent more likely to earn a first- or upper second-class honors degree compared with those who took A Level qualifiers, according to the HESA.

While I recognize the CSAT's importance and value in Korea, there are lasting benefits to an IB diploma for your consideration. I firmly believe that this is the right program for aspiring global citizens wanting to make their mark on the world. For schools that may embrace the choice going forward, the IB provides as much support as needed, as I can confirm given my experience as an IB coordinator.

Together, IB schools form a global community, meaning teachers and students are genuinely connected in their pursuit of a better education and a better world. As an educator, I certainly find that inspiring.

Rebecca Gardner is assistant head and IB coordinator at Dulwich College Seoul.