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Can you imagine a school without any tests or exams? The mere thought is incredible to most students.
The Ministry of Education announced that all middle schools in Korea will have an "exam-free semester" from 2016 after testing the beta-program in a limited number of schools in 2014 and 2015.
The new curriculum is said to contain many activities, such as debate and career classes, during the semester without any written examinations.
At first sight, I think that most middle school students will welcome the new system, because they will be free from the hell of exams for one semester.
Looking back on my middle school years, I cannot remember taking any practical classes, as I just studied in the classroom.
This "exam-free semester" should be very helpful for middle school students in providing valuable opportunities to experience various activities and identify what they would like to do as a future career.
As a high school student, I was glad to hear that middle school students will be able to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities without the heavy burden of taking exams looming over them.
However I am concerned that this "fantastic" project may end up in failure like other previous, unsuccessful projects such as the National English Ability Test (NEAT).
When NEAT was proposed by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), it seemed to be well-suited for testing English level in Korea since it assesses writing and speaking abilities which most Koreans have difficulty in.
Moreover, it was said to be developed as an attempt to reduce the nation's heavy reliance on widely used English exams such as TOEFL and TOEIC.
Unfortunately NEAT didn't go as planned due to technical and managerial problems.
The implementation of the NEAT as an official test for college entrance examination was delayed until 2019.
I am worried about whether the "exam-free semester" policy will follow in the same footsteps. Many parents and students also feel the same way.
I think the education ministry should fully think over the pros and cons before carrying out the project.
Without proper planning, this policy is likely to fail.
Model schools that are currently testing this policy point out that they have hit some snags already because of a lack of participation from local governments and enterprises.
If this continues, I feel this plan will eventually fizzle out sooner or later, wasting the time of both students and parents. In order to not repeat the same mistakes, the ministry must be more vigilant about pursuing a new educational policy.
The writer is a second grade student at Gimhae Girls' High School in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.
