Make it or break it - Sooneung , The CSAT

Classroom desks being emptied , staff rooms being cleared of computers and text books, boxes of stationery piling up in my classroom and school ending at 11 am. This is all in preprartion for tomorrow. The day that will probably be the most frightening day that any third grader will ever have to face the day that they have worked towards for the past 13 years and the day that will decide the rest of their lives . "Sooneung " also known as The CSAT.


The background
CSAT which stands for The College Scholastic Ability Test is a type of standardized test that every single Grade 3 student in South Korea is expected to write if they wish to be accepted into a University. CSAT is a government run test and is managed by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation.

The subjects that are tested in the CSAT include : Korean, Mathematics, English language, Social Science/Science/Vocational Inquiry, and Foreign language. Students can choose from all or some of the subjects. This exam lasts 8 hours . After the test, the administrators gather the test, they are then marked using machines and the printing of the results usually takes around a month

Each year certain schools are used as CSAT exam venues and students from all over Gyeongju will be placed in various schools to write the exam. This happens in every city in Korea. My school happens to be one of them and as a result we will not have school tomorrow and today will be spent clearing classrooms and ensuring no academic material is in sight .By 2 pm all students and teachers will be asked to leave and the school will be locked until tomorrow morning. This is a very nice change from the usual 11 pm closing time

Some of our teachers will be required to monitor the exams at school tomorrow and will spend the entire day patrolling the hallways and the classrooms to ensure that nothing goes wrong. ( yes they are getting paid large amounts of money to do this).


Why so serious
The test is taken so seriously that The whole of South Korea comes to a halt. Day-to-day operations are grounded and delayed will be delayed.[4] . Tomorrow the stock markets will open late and buses and subways will be increased to avoid traffic jams that may prevent students from getting to the testing sites. Some students will even have police officers escorting them to the venues... it boggles the mind . Younger students and the members of the students' families will gather outside the testing sites to cheer on the students whilst others will spend their entire day in prayer praying for the students. Reporters will gather outside the exam venues to broadcast the event on national TV. All. for. one. exam.


CSAT VS Matric exams in South Africa

In South Africa we regard our matric exam as the most important exam in a student’s high school career whilst the University entrance exam really doesn’t count for much . Although there is a final government examination that all grade 3 students are required to write in South Korea its regarded as almost irrelevant in comparison to the CSAT.
In South Africa each University has its own individual entrance exam , however South Korea did away with that system years ago as it was believed to be a failing system. I find the idea of using the high schools as exam venues as opposed to the universities pretty interesting. The amount of extra work and preparation that it requires from the school is monumental. At this very moment all the students are pouring into my classroom with their school life packed into boxes. My classroom is being used as storage for the next two days.

Unlike in South Africa where the majority of the population do not have the luxury to attend university , 80% of Korean high school students will enter Universities. Yes, 80%!!!!! that is huge and as a result the chances of getting into a good University is made that much more difficult. Many students have worked their entire lives towards this one day and tomorrow it will all be over


Controlling a culture
One 8 hour exam , yet this one exam has successfully managed to take control of an entire culture and the school education in South Korea. Parents invest millions of won in their children’s education , especially in subjects such as English , all in the hope that when they finally get to their final year of school and are faced with the 8 hour hell like exam , all the money and lack of sleep would have been worth it .

For those that make it through tomorrow it will be a day of celebration and relief, but for those that are not blessed with that luxury , tomorrow will be a day filled with a sense of sadness , loss and failure , but an even more horrific reality is that for many of the students , it will be a day that they wish to end and never have to relive again.

I hope and pray that it is the former . Here is a link to a documentary that was made about the CSAT and its impact on Korean culture. I urge you all to please watch it. http://vimeo.com/24642646

The Good luck Geunhwa cirlce

Yesterday we had a two hour school mass service. This mass was to prepare and wish our matric girls good luck for the upcoming and very stressful university exams. I had a very similar sort of service  at my school in South Africa before we wrote our final exams. However, what we  didnt have was a good luck circle. In the middle of the church service all 250 grade 3 students formed a very large circle around the perimeter of the school hall. Then all of the teachers got up from their seats and went inside this giant circle. Feeling utterly confused as to what was going on I joined the other teachers inside the large circle and was informed that we were making a good luck circle , ( a very old Geunhwa tradition) and that we should shake hands and wish each grade 3 student good luck for the exam.

As I began walking around the circle and shaking each girls hand to wish them good luck I noticed many of them desperately trying to hold back their tears. Suddenly I had flashbacks of when I was in my final year of school and how I felt just before the final exams . Stressed , overwhelmed and nervous. Anyone who is an english high school teacher in Korea will back me up here. The pressure placed on these students is incomprehensible.

I realised that they were not crying because they were sad , they were crying because of the pressure , the stress and the fear of failing. As I continued to walk around the circle wishing them good luck my tears soon turned into sobbs as I realised just how important it is for these girls to do well in this exam. Failure to achieve a high grade will result in them not getting into the university that they have always dreamed of going to. With this in mind I attempted to make my " good luck" wishes more encouraging and excititng " Good luck , you can do it" " Keep fighting" "You gonna do so well" .Such simple words of encouragement yet it gave them a glimmer of hope that everything is going to be ok.Some of them held onto my hand and wouldnt let go as the tears came streaming down their faces. Being the emotional person that I am I took it one step further and started hugging all of them. The principal who was watching all of this go down didnt look too impressed. However when it comes to matters such as supporting and encouraging your students I say screw the rules.

I know this post may seem boring or pointless however , I wanted to share it with you because I think it is a beautiful tradition at Geunhwa and something that I never experienced at school. More importantly it illsutrates the importance of ecouraging others and believing in them. Eventhough I have never taught the grade 3 's and dont have much of a relationship with them I know that they will take our words of encouragemnet with them when they write the exam. So lets not forget or take for granted just how influential our few words of encouragement can be for others and especially our students.

x

The good luck Geunhwa circle . Teachers going around the circle wishing each student good luck