College Entrance Exam Changes for 2006

Social and scientific section of the 2006 College Entrance Examination (CEE) is expected to be more difficult than last year’s.

Chung Kang-chung, president of the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation, said in an exclusive interview with Dong-A Ilbo yesterday that “the level of this year’s examination is similar to that of the 2005 examination and two trial examinations held this year,” adding, “A trial exam held last September was particularly helpful for applicants to guess the 2006 exam’s difficulty level.”

Chung also said, “Last year, contrary to the Korean language section, mathematical section, and foreign language section in which we had no problem in determining the ability of test takers, the social and scientific enquiry section gave us trouble because we had difficulties in telling differences among applicants’ ability, and in some subsections, almost all of students got a perfect score.” He added, “This year, we will ask a few more difficult questions in order to screen qualified applicants.”

Chung continued to comment, saying, “We received complaints from applicants that the Korean language section was so difficult that they couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the test’s sections. Considering this appeal, we modulated the level of the Korean language section,” adding, “Students who prepare for the exam through EBS programs and online lectures will be accustomed to the layout of the 2006 examination.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development held a meeting with vice-superintendents in local education offices in 16 cities and provinces yesterday and ordered them to be alert to the cheating that plagued last year’s examination and make sure that the controversy that broke over widespread cheating last year does not occur again.

The ministry and local offices of education agreed to operate a Center for Prevention of Cheating on the CEE” and field a task force in cooperation with police and related government departments.

Regarding this, the ministry said, “If we notice any sign of possible cheating at particular examination sites, we will declare those sites to be special watch zones. We will also decide to use metal detectors to search applicants who use restrooms during the examination day for any concealed materials.”

In-Chul Lee inchul@donga.com