New Grading System for High School Students [13-01-2012]
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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. | | |