An essential step in educational reform was made lately with the announcement by the South Korean Ministry of Education that it will do away with “Killer Questions” from the notoriously challenging “Suneung” college admissions test. 

‘Killer Questions’ were initially created to assess students’ general knowledge and skills fairly while giving a smaller weight to a few questions.

It aims to reduce the prevalence of private cram schools and standardize testing conditions for all pupils.

The ministry hopes that eliminating the most different questions, which tend to cover material not covered in class, might lessen the impact of this trend.

According to Young (2023), in a New York Times news report, students would be punished more for getting easier questions wrong if killer problems were removed from exams. 

By doing this, the educational system hopes to lessen the intense pressure that students experience and encourage a more impartial evaluation that is in line with the subject matter addressed in class.

Although Suneung's level of difficulty changes from year to year, killer questions often account for the majority of the exam's weight.

These questions frequently test students on subjects that need to be addressed in their usual curriculum, as Park (2023) noted in the Asia News Network.

As a result, private education is being overemphasized in South Korea, and students are turning to cram schools to learn how to answer such difficult questions.

The government's decision to ban these "killer questions" recognizes the negative impacts of this trend and attempts to create a balance between pushing pupils intellectually while providing a fair evaluation based on the state-mandated curriculum.

South Korea has an over-reliance on private education because of the prominence of challenging questions, especially those from government institutions.

According to Park (2023), the nation's record-breaking private education spending was 26 trillion won ($20.3 billion) in 2017, with English as the most expensive course.

Due to the heavy financial load and educational inequality brought on by this education fever, students and their families are being severely burdened.

The education ministry wants to make the educational system more egalitarian and accessible by eliminating killer questions, which would lessen the need for private coaching.

According to Agence France Presse (2023) in an NDTV news article, Suneung is crucial in determining a student's college admissions, job prospects, and marriage possibilities.

The original intent of including killer questions—questions that cannot be resolved by merely studying the prescribed material—was to identify top-performing pupils.

Nevertheless, this strategy has unintentionally supported a learning environment that prioritizes rote memorization and test-focused learning.

The ministry wants to move the emphasis away from these questions and toward a more comprehensive evaluation that considers elements other than academic performance and encourages students to evaluate a wider variety of abilities and talents.

South Korea's choice to remove killer questions from the SAT marks a substantial advancement in educational equity and a reduction in the reliance on for-profit institutions of higher learning.

The government aims to reduce pressure on students and develop an educational system that fosters a varied range of abilities and talents by implementing a broader and more balanced evaluation process.

Although the full effects of this reform have yet to be seen, it is a step in the right direction toward creating a more inclusive and all-encompassing learning environment in South Korea.

Chaelin Song
Grade 11
Saint Johnsbury Academy Jeju