South Korea to overhaul English writing test after complaints it was too hard

SEOUL – South Korea’s Ministry of Education on Feb 11 announced measures to overhaul the test-writing process of the College Scholastic Aptitude Test, or Suneung, following widespread criticism over the unusually difficult English section in 2025.

Only 3.11 per cent of test-takers in November 2025 earned the top grade (Level 1) in the English section, reflecting the exam’s increased difficulty. Under normal conditions, 7 per cent of students are expected to achieve the highest score.

The record low share of top scorers reignited concerns about the government’s ability to control exam difficulty, particularly because English is graded on an absolute scale, and shifts in difficulty can have a disproportionate impact on college admissions.

In response, the ministry conducted an investigation in December 2025 into the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, which is responsible for writing the test, to determine how difficulty controls broke down.

Why the English section was so difficult

The ministry’s investigation found that questions in the English section underwent an excessive number of last-minute revisions before the exam.

A total of 19 questions were rewritten in the English section, compared with one in the Korean section and four in the math section.

The ministry said the sudden changes left reviewers with too little time to assess the revised questions’ difficulty or determine whether they properly reflected the public education curriculum.

“When a question is written, there is a process in which reviewers submit their evaluations, but that did not occur smoothly,” an Education Ministry official said.

“All 19 questions did go through reviewer evaluation, but because that process takes time, it appears to have affected difficulty checks.”

The investigation also found an imbalance in the composition of test writers.

Only 33 per cent of English test writers were active teachers, compared with an average of 45 per cent in all sections. The rest were professors or outside experts.

The ministry said the limited participation of active teachers reduced the committee’s ability to incorporate students’ actual learning levels.

In addition, the investigation found insufficient verification of test-writer expertise. Since the 2024 exam, test writers have been randomly selected from a talent pool, yet the ministry said the post-selection verification process was inadequate.

The ministry also noted that questions are written at private accommodation facilities over 40 days, making it difficult to maintain a stable test-writing environment. Security constraints also limit the use of artificial intelligence, hindering the development of more efficient support systems.

What will change in future exams?

To address these issues, the ministry unveiled a comprehensive plan covering human resource reforms and institutional support measures.

The ministry said it will strengthen screening of writers’ expertise across all sections after selection, while also expanding its talent pool to include those with prior test-writing experience at local education offices.

Under the new system, candidates’ experience, including participation in Suneung writing, mock exam development, textbook work or EBS workbook production, will be reviewed as part of the selection process.

In addition, at least half of the test writers for the English section will be active teachers.

A separate question review committee will also be established for each subject area by consolidating smaller, pre-existing error and difficulty review committees to more effectively assess question difficulty.

“Normally, five to six levels of review are required for each question, so many different committees are involved,” the ministry official said.

“The new committee is an integrated body that organically combines them.”

The existing test-setting review committee will take on additional responsibility for evaluating overall exam difficulty, alongside its current role of ensuring questions align with the high school curriculum.

The ministry also said it will ease restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in creating and reviewing exam questions.

The ministry will develop an AI-based English passage generation system to reduce the time required for question development and address copyright-related challenges. The system will be piloted in the 2028 mock exam, according to officials.

In the longer term, AI will also be used for difficulty prediction and for similarity checks between questions.

The government also plans to establish a dedicated test-writing facility by 2030, tentatively named the Education Assessment and Test Development Support Center, to provide a more stable and efficient environment for test writing.

“Stable test setting is essential to building trust in the college admissions system,” Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said.

“Through these improvements, we aim to create a predictable and trustworthy Suneung system so that students who put in the effort within public education can be evaluated fairly.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK