SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — An educational assessment in Seoul has revealed that approximately 1 in 10 second-year middle school and first-year high school students fall below the minimum standard for basic numeracy skills. The situation is particularly concerning among first-year high school students, where 41% demonstrated below-average mathematical proficiency.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education released these findings on January 14 as part of its 2024 Seoul Student Literacy and Numeracy Diagnostic Test results. The study, which began in 2023 in response to concerns about learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, is publishing its results for the first time.
The assessment covered 94,000 students across 524 elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul, targeting fourth and sixth-grade elementary students, second-year middle school students, and first-year high school students. The tests evaluated vocabulary and analytical skills for literacy, and numerical operations, geometry, and data analysis for numeracy.
Results were categorized into four levels, with Level 1 indicating below-basic proficiency, Level 2 showing basic skills, Level 3 representing above-average performance, and Level 4 denoting excellence. While overall scores improved as students advanced through grades, the percentage of students at Level 1 increased with each academic year.
In literacy, the proportion of Level 1 students rose from 3.42% in fourth grade to 7.02% in first-year high school. The trend was more pronounced in mathematics, where 13.68% of students in first-year high school were in Level 1 – more than triple the 4.12% seen in fourth grade.
“Mathematics is a cumulative learning system,” explained Joo So-yeon, education policy director at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. “Students seem to hit a wall when confronting algebraic expressions in middle school and quadratic and cubic functions in high school.” She emphasized that one-on-one tutoring would be strengthened to address the growing number of students giving up on mathematics.
To improve literacy skills, the office plans to implement targeted reading programs: morning reading sessions for elementary students, writing exercises for middle school students, and in-depth discussions for high school students.
Comparing 2024 results with 2023, literacy scores improved across most grades except fourth grade elementary, which saw a slight decline. In mathematics, elementary school scores decreased while middle and high school scores showed improvement.
The education office plans to expand the diagnostic testing program in 2024, transitioning to computer-based assessments and increasing participation to approximately 120,000 students across 700 schools.
“These diagnostic test results will serve as an important milestone in strengthening Seoul students’ capabilities,” said Superintendent Jung Geun-sik, pledging comprehensive support for improving literacy and numeracy skills from fourth grade elementary through first-year high school.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)