[단독] 내신 절대평가 왜 꺼냈나…특정과목 쏠림 고교학점제 부작용

The National Education Commission, a presidentially-appointed body, is pushing for a transition from high school absolute-point evaluation to a unified absolute evaluation system, following the introduction of national high school English and composition tests. However, there are numerous challenges that need to be addressed, such as the decline in evaluation power of absolute-point evaluation, and disparities between schools and regions.

According to a draft of the National Education Development Plan in the possession of the JoongAng Ilbo, the plan aims to eliminate the ranking system based on comparative evaluation and maintain only the absolute evaluation system. Starting from 2030, the curriculum will shift to the "school grade system," where students will be graded on a scale of 1 to 5 based on their achievements.

The National Education Commission believes that the current system of comparative evaluation through absolute-point evaluation promotes competition and leads to selecting easier subjects, resulting in unfair advantages for some students. The unified absolute evaluation system aims to nurture future creative talents and reduce the educational disparities between schools and regions.

However, the transition to the absolute evaluation system faces several challenges, such as the varying difficulty levels of exams and evaluation standards across schools, the possibility of students inflating their scores through "score inflation," and educational disparities between schools and regions. Additionally, the abolishment of comparative evaluation through rankings may lead to an increase in competition through other means, such as interviews and essays in the university admission process.

The National Education Commission plans to address the challenges by expanding regular school hours for first and second graders in elementary school, starting from 2031, and implementing an "afternoon synchronized school system" where students will attend school in the afternoon from 2032. The plan also includes providing opportunities for social-emotional learning, play, and physical activity during the extended afternoon school hours.

Despite recent efforts to gather feedback from the ground, there is a heated debate over the proposal, with teachers strongly opposing it due to increased workload. The National Education Commission conducted a perception survey among 2,267 elementary school teachers nationwide in the last month, and 99.04% of them opposed the proposal.

Parents and guardians have expressed support for the "three-hour school system" as a necessary measure to fulfill the public responsibility of schools in providing care and education.