1st Nat’l Evaluation Test Given in Decade

The first national evaluation test in 10 years was administered without much trouble yesterday on 598,524 third graders in 5,756 elementary schools nationwide.

Assessing a student’s abilities in basic reading, writing and math, the test between 1998 and last year had been given to just a three-percent sample group of elementary school students.

The Korean Teachers’ and Educational Workers’ Union had threatened to sabotage the test’s administration, calling it a disguised form of a merit-based evaluation system. About 130 students and parents in Seoul went to an academic event in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, but most of the students were not in the third grade.

According to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, 10 third graders from eight schools in Seoul and one from Daejeon missed school without permission yesterday. An additional 1,626 students also missed school but had an excuse like illness or family event. The number of absentees with good cause was not exceptional, compared with average attendance records.

The test results will be classified in two categories: “normal” and “below normal.” The ministry will announce each school district’s results in the two categories from December.

foryou@donga.com