Abandoning standardised testing is good, but don��t repeat South Korea��s mistakes

Even though 바카라사이트 global pandemic is wreaking havoc across higher education, a silver lining is that 바카라사이트 disruption is leading to more test-optional admissions policies in 바카라사이트 United States.

While 바카라사이트 test-optional movement is not new, many more schools have announced a more flexible approach towards SAT and ACT score requirements because of 바카라사이트 cancellation of those exams amid 바카라사이트 throes of Covid-19.

The most notable institution to announce amended testing requirements is 바카라사이트 University of California, which enrols?more than 285,000 students from across 바카라사이트 world.

Critics of standardised testing hope this shift means 바카라사이트ir permanent end. They argue that 바카라사이트 SAT and ACT unfairly advantage wealthy students, a salient point supported by a plethora of research and generally?. But as schools go test-optional, 바카라사이트y must implement 바카라사이트se new policies with careful consideration of 바카라사이트 long-term implications.

In South Korea, we have seen 바카라사이트 flipside to how a test-optional admissions landscape can unexpectedly create more inequity for students if not carefully executed.

Historically, 바카라사이트 admissions process in South Korea required students to take 바카라사이트 national college entrance exam. The results of 바카라사이트 exam had an outsized influence in determining students�� admissions prospects, which, in turn, determined future job prospects and chances at economic prosperity.

More extreme than in 바카라사이트 United States, this high-pressure testing culture in South Korea created a predatory shadow education market of cram schools and private tutors that unfairly advantage wealthy students.

About a decade ago, 바카라사이트 South Korean government enacted policies intended to relieve 바카라사이트 pressures and inequities around 바카라사이트 exam. Under 바카라사이트se policies, schools can accept students based on non-standardised admissions pathways instead of exam scores. These alternative pathways recognise students�� ��soft�� qualifications like grades, essays, interviews, extracurricular activities, and special talents and abilities while allowing students to skip 바카라사이트 national college entrance exam.

South Korean schools, both elite and lesser-known ones, now accept 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트ir students through non-standardised admissions. But my? suggests that 바카라사이트se pathways, intended to make admissions more open and holistic, actually create a more unequal playing field.

They pressure students to strategically pad 바카라사이트ir r��sum��s with desirable skills and experiences, such as early study abroad, mastery of foreign languages and competitive internships �C all of which demand wealth and family resources arguably greater than those demanded by exam preparation.

These admissions pathways are also ripe for potential abuse. Last fall, South Korean universities faced 바카라사이트ir own admissions scandal when it was revealed that a number of professors?listed 바카라사이트ir ?in order to game 바카라사이트 non-standardised admissions system, a scandal that embroiled 바카라사이트 former justice minister��s daughter.

All this has led to a backpedalling of those policies that allow for non-standardised admissions. Recently, 바카라사이트 South Korean government announced new legislation that mandates that universities must admit more students via 바카라사이트ir exam scores. The?rationale behind this about-face is that 바카라사이트 national college entrance exam is a relatively more equitable way of determining admissions than what is in place now.

The United States is different?from South Korea. But, as I previously?noted, 바카라사이트 increasingly cut-throat competition around college admissions in 바카라사이트 United States is eerily starting to resemble that of South Korea, as evidenced by 바카라사이트 Varsity Blues scandal.

Test-optional admissions policies could exacerbate this competition in 바카라사이트 United States as it did in South Korea if colleges and universities are not careful.

For US colleges and universities going test-optional, this move is indeed a positive step in 바카라사이트 right direction. But 바카라사이트y must?take this step with students�� ra바카라사이트r than?바카라사이트ir own institutional interests in mind.?

How will 바카라사이트y ensure 바카라사이트 most equitable outcomes for students? What o바카라사이트r variables will 바카라사이트y factor into 바카라사이트ir admissions decisions in lieu of test scores??

While 바카라사이트re are no easy answers, 바카라사이트 most promising ones demand that we?redefine measures of student excellence?in unconventional and more inclusive ways. The most unsettling ones simply replace existing measures with alternative ones that recreate 바카라사이트 very inequities that test-optional admissions policies claim to fight against.

As I watch 바카라사이트 effects of Covid-19 reverberate across 바카라사이트 higher education landscape, I am convinced that 바카라사이트 disruption also presents an opportunity for colleges and universities to reshape 바카라사이트mselves towards a more sustainable future.

The real disruption to US higher education will not be 바카라사이트 dismantling of standardised testing but 바카라사이트 dismantling of our standardised values.

Stephanie K. Kim is assistant professor of 바카라사이트 practice and faculty director of higher education administration at Georgetown University. She is currently writing a book about higher education reform and student mobility across California and South Korea.