Test Agency Says Two Answers Were Correct for CSAT Physics Question

The heated controversy over the No. 11 Physics II question on the 2008 College Scholastic Aptitude Test has been resolved after the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) announced yesterday that two answers are appropriate and test-takers will be given new grades today.

Following this announcement, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development has decided to ask universities to accept applicants regardless of their quota for early admissions if they submit revised CSAT results and are found eligible with new grades, and to extend the deadlines for regular applications until December 28.

It is the first time education authorities have changed answers after test results were announced and applications for admissions had already begun, though the authorities accepted two answers to a question on the 2004 CSAT before the distribution of test results.

This unsavory event has dealt a serious blow to the reliability of the KICE and is expected to lead to a public outcry against the newly-introduced CSAT grade system where students’ results are divided into nine different percentiles. Universities may also face trouble while adjusting schedules for regular applications as a result of the revision.

Jeong Kang-jeong, president of KICE, held an emergency press conference yesterday afternoon at the building of the institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul and announced that for the disputed answer to question No. 11 in the Physics II section, the second choice, which was picked as another answer by the Korean Physics Society, will also be accepted as a correct answer in addition to the fourth answer, which was initially presented as the only correct answer by the institute.

“We will send new grades to students whose grades were raised by the answer change as quickly as possible and to universities to which the students applied. If measures are needed for those who applied using early admissions, we earnestly request the education ministry and universities to do their utmost not to create any unexpected victims,” said Jeong. He also announced his intention to resign in order to take responsibility for the correction.

With this change, among a total of 19,597 students who took the Physics II test, some 10,000 students will see their grades rise, with about 50 students expected to have their grades raised from the second to the first percentile.

While sticking to the current system of grade percentiles, the KICE plans to revise the grades of students if they had chosen answer No. 2 and are to be given three more points due to the change. The KICE will issue new grades for the students as early as today.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development held a press conference at 6:30 today and formally asked universities to extend their deadlines for regular applications until Friday for the students who got higher grades as a result of the correction and make efforts not to produce unintended victims. The ministry has also requested universities not to change the number of students they intended to accept via regular applications procedures, even though the number of students who have succeeded in early admissions goes up due to the answer change.

Only students with raised grades will benefit from the extended deadline, and only those students who have already applied using regular admissions procedures will be allowed to cancel their applications.

foryou@donga.com