The credit system will be introduced when entering 6th grade and high school this year. [Q&A]

From this year’s 6th grade elementary school (entry to high school in 2025), the’High School Credit System’, which selects subjects according to their career and aptitude in high school, and earns credits for subjects that have reached the completion criteria, will be fully implemented. When the high school credit system, which is the pledge of President Moon Jae-in, is inevitable, major changes in the curriculum, academic management, and school space are inevitable, but in this announcement by the Ministry of Education, there is no sketch of the college admission policy direction and evaluation method in conjunction with the high school credit system. Comes out.

In particular, the government is planning to partially introduce the high school credit system to all high schools starting next year, but the education site is in a confusing atmosphere as it announced that it will establish a specific plan related to this in June.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Education announced the’Comprehensive High School Credit System Promotion Plan,’ which aims to reorganize the subject structure centered on student selection. One credit is a 50-minute basis for a total of 16 lessons, and 192 credits (2560 hours) for 3 years is based on high school graduation. If the course attendance rate (more than two-thirds of the number of classes attended) and the academic achievement rate (40% or more, A~E) are met, the subject is considered to have been completed, and supplementary completion will be supported in case of non-completion.

For the purpose of the high school credit system, it should be an achievement evaluation (absolute evaluation), but for common subjects, it was decided to mix relative evaluation. Common subjects (mathematics, integrated society, integrated science, etc.) taken in the first year are given an advanced grade. However, in the ranking system, the ranking is not calculated only for elective courses, taking into account the opinion that the new grade may be disadvantageous depending on the number of participants.

Concerned that an absolute evaluation of elective subjects may intensify the focus on prestigious school districts due to the disappearance of competition burden, an official from the Ministry of Education said, “Because first graders still have an advanced grade system, there will be a focus on the school district by looking only at career elective subjects. “No,” he said, “it is more about how hard each school does and provides customized education to students rather than prestigious school districts.”

In addition, under the high school credit system, a plan is provided that allows students to take elective courses not only at the high school they are attending, but also at nearby high schools, local universities, and public institutions.

An official from the Ministry of Education said, “It is the purpose of the high school credit system to maximize the potential and talents of students through a teaching-learning and evaluation system that focuses on individual growth rather than relative ranking.” Beyond that, we will design an educational system that allows students to gather meaningful knowledge and design careers and studies.”

However, in the educational field, there are still voices of concern about the increased burden of teachers on the high school credit system and the gap between schools.

Cheonan Ohseong High School Principal Cho Young-jong (Senior Vice-President) said, “With the high school credit system, various subjects must be opened to guarantee students’ class choices, so teachers will have to prepare all two or three subjects instead of one subject as they are now.” It is also burdensome to decide not to complete the school because there is insufficient school space to satisfy students’ requirements for opening all courses, and their academic achievement is low.”

In addition, if the transition to absolute evaluation for national, English, and water subjects rather than a second foreign language or some social and scientific subjects, the problem of securing discrimination and the possibility of inflating the substantiality in the current occasional system will inevitably arise. University admission policies in line with the high school credit system are suggested. It is also regrettable that it did not work. If the final grade is not calculated, the means to discriminate students’ academic level in the current subject screening and the student department’s comprehensive screening will disappear. The Ministry of Education, in principle, reflects the new educational system, such as the 2022 national curriculum and high school credit system, in terms of the college admission policy for the 2028 school year, when the current 6th graders enter college for the first time. He put forward a principled position, saying, “We are going to review related measures to meet the direction of the future education transformation, which aims to respect aptitude and increase core competencies such as creativity and problem solving ability.”

Constitutional petitions for the abolition of private high schools, foreign language high schools, and international high schools are also being discussed as an uncertain factor in promoting the high school credit system. If the Constitutional Court raises the hand of the school, it has not been decided whether to apply the credit system to private high schools and foreign high schools.

In addition, regarding the point that in-house high schools and special high schools can offer a variety of subjects and in-depth courses compared to general high schools, the Ministry of Education said, “We will look at the results of the constitutional petition for the abolition of self-accidents and foreign high schools and review them in the future.” “In college, it was more important to understand which subjects were taken in accordance with the major application rather than completing the intensive course.” The Ministry of Education’s position is that it is difficult for the university to give additional points in the college admissions evaluation process, and that it is difficult to continue to determine the occurrence of disadvantages or disadvantages for completing advanced courses in the high school curriculum.

On the other hand, the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations raised their voice, saying, “The establishment of the high school credit system without the expansion of teachers is nothing more than an empty flame.” In this regard, according to the results of the’High School Credit System Awareness Questionnaire’ conducted by the KCTU to 2399 high school teachers nationwide on the 4th to 7th, the `Difficulty in organizing student-customized curriculum for high school credit system` (two options) was discussed. Inability to receive sufficient teachers for establishment’ (67.2%) was cited the most. This was followed by’excessive multi-subject tutoring’ (47.6%) and’difficulty predicting due to changes in student demand’ (36.5%).

“In the case of research schools announced by the Ministry of Education, it is expected that classes will increase due to the opening of various elective courses, as well as diversification of courses to be opened, as well as increase in class preparation time, student counseling and management, etc.” “Even so, the Ministry of Education has just announced that it will set a new standard for the supply of teachers by 2022,” he urged, saying, “An innovative and detailed plan to expand teachers must be prepared.”

In addition, “To solve the problem of teacher supply and demand, joint curriculum, online course, itinerant teacher system, and external lecturer system are proposed as alternatives, but there are problems with student safety and life guidance, the effectiveness of online lectures, and quality assurance of education. “I am concerned,” he said. “Especially, it is necessary to take meticulous support measures to ensure that students in rural schools, where it is difficult to supply and receive teachers, are alienated and the educational gap does not deepen.”

[김제림 기자 / 고민서 기자]
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