New Grading System for High School Students [13-01-2012]
The high school grading system is about to be revolutionized. Recently, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology교육과학기술부 announced that it will replace the current grading system with the six-level A through F system used in the U.S. The idea is to reduce intensive competition for grades among students.

Currently, students are graded on a curve. Each individual is ranked from one through nine. For years, critics of this system have pointed out that the curve engendered unnecessary competition among students. The ministry announced that the new system will be implemented starting in the 2014 academic year. The new change would be the second of its kind since the current grading system was adopted in 2005 to prevent possible grade inflation.

The vice minister of Education, Science and Technology said the problem with the current evaluation system is that it triggers far too much stress on students while creating unfriendly competition. Since the ministry believes that cooperative learning is the most suitable for students, the new grading system is expected to solve the problem. The departure from the current system will allow students to receive one of six grades regardless of their class rank.

So far, the grading scale hasn’t been finalized by the ministry. However, the ministry has tentatively decided to award A’s to students with grades above 90 percent, B’s to scores between 80 to 90 percent, C’s to scores between 70 to 80 percent, and D’s to scores between 60 to 70 percent. The new grading system will be tested next year before it is implemented nationwide in 2014.