7 in 10 teachers oppose CSAT essay questions over grading disputes, AI concerns

Middle and high school teachers nationwide oppose introducing written-response and essay questions to the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), citing grading disputes and workload concerns. A survey of 2,427 teachers found that 73.5 percent opposed the change, while only 1.8 percent supported it outright. Teachers also questioned whether AI grading could reliably assess subject-specific answers or reduce their workload. The National Education Commission is considering delaying its draft proposal to allow more preparation.

The teacher survey was conducted from Sept. 7-30 and allowed respondents to select up to two reasons for their views.

Among respondents, 38.5 percent cited the burden of handling objections and complaints, 35.6 percent cited difficulties ensuring objective and consistent grading, and 16.9 percent cited insufficient grading time.

Another 16.7 percent of teachers said essay questions should be introduced only after sufficient preparation, while 6.5 percent favored limiting them to selected subjects and 1.5 percent were unsure.

At a parliamentary audit held Oct. 7, National Education Commission Chairman Cha Jeong-in said members were discussing whether to delay the draft proposal, which was originally scheduled for release later that month.

The commission originally planned to finalize the reform plan next March, but an official said the introduction of written-response questions remained under review.

Published Oct 14, 2026 3:26 pm KST

Classroom cases reveal major hurdles

Students study in a classroom in front of a chalkboard marking 50 days until the College Scholastic Ability Test at Hyowon High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sept. 30. Yonhap

A parent demands full marks for a written English answer, citing an email from a professor at an American university. In another case, a private academy challenged an English test score, and the dispute later led to a lawsuit over partial credit.

These incidents, described in a casebook recently released by the National Secondary School Teachers’ Union, show the challenges facing discussions about introducing written-response and essay questions into Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), potentially aided by artificial intelligence (AI) grading. The casebook accompanied a survey of 2,427 middle and high school teachers conducted from Sept. 7-30.

Middle and high school teachers nationwide say persistent grading complaints have pushed them to set questions with fixed answers. They warn that expanding essay-based assessments could worsen disputes and increase their workload.

Several teachers described a tension between encouraging diverse, well-reasoned answers and creating grading criteria precise enough to withstand complaints.

One English teacher reported that a dispute involving a student and parents escalated to a formal complaint through the government’s online petition system.

“Students and parents who had lived abroad drew on considerable expertise, citing relevant academic papers and other supporting materials to aggressively challenge the teacher. The dispute escalated to a complaint through the government’s online petition system. Teachers, in response, began drafting easy, unambiguous questions (to protect themselves),” said one teacher in the report.

A high school social studies teacher described a similar dilemma when students demanded credit for brief, incomplete answers on the grounds that they were not technically incorrect. Accepting those answers would be unfair to students who had written fuller responses, the teacher said, but the disputes encouraged questions more akin to short-answer tests.

The accounts illustrate why assessment reform involves more than just designing questions: Schools must also set up robust institutional procedures to handle grading disputes, rather than stranding individual teachers on the front lines of prolonged confrontation.

Some survey respondents said grading disagreements even brought private tutoring instructors and outside specialists into school assessments. A middle school mathematics teacher reported a private academy using the slogan, “We’ll recover your lost marks.”

National Education Commission Chairman Cha Jeong-in speaks during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly in Seoul, Oct. 7. Yonhap

AI, which is rapidly reshaping education, has added another complication. While some teachers use it to help assess answers, students are increasingly using it to challenge their grades.

“A student challenged the grade, insisting that their answer was correct because AI agreed with it and that I was therefore wrong. Even after I repeatedly explained the reasoning and provided evidence, the student continued to cite AI and told me to ask it myself,” a middle school teacher said.

Teachers who had tried AI grading also questioned whether it saved time. A middle school Korean-language teacher said a system handled general writing topics reasonably well but struggled with answers containing subject-specific concepts. Setting up grading criteria and checking the results created additional work, some teachers said in the report.

Asked why essay-style assessments struggle to serve their intended purpose, 38.5 percent of respondents cited the burden of handling objections and complaints, while 35.6 percent pointed to difficulties ensuring objective and consistent grading. Another 16.9 percent cited insufficient time to grade large numbers of answers. Respondents could select up to two reasons.

Asked about introducing written response and essay questions into the CSAT, 73.5 percent of respondents were opposed. Another 16.7 percent said they should be introduced only after sufficient preparation, while 6.5 percent favored limiting them to selected subjects. Just 1.8 percent supported introduction outright and 1.5 percent were unsure.

At a parliamentary audit held Oct. 7, National Education Commission Chairman Cha Jeong-in said its members were discussing whether to delay the draft proposal, originally scheduled for release later this month, to allow more preparation. The original plan was to release the draft this month and finalize it next March.

Asked how the commission would ensure objective grading, an official told The Korea Times, “We are continuing public deliberations as we consider ways to address those issues.” The official added that introducing written-response to the test was still under review.

全美各地的中小学教师反对在大学入学考试（CSAT）中引入书面回答和作文题，理由是评分争议和工作量增加。一项针对2427名教师的调查发现，73.5%的教师反对这项改革，而只有1.8%的教师明确表示支持。教师们还质疑人工智能评分能否可靠地评估学科相关的答案，以及能否减轻他们的工作量。国家教育委员会正在考虑推迟提交提案草案，以便有更多时间进行准备。

教师调查于 9 月 7 日至 30 日进行，受访者可以选择最多两个理由来表达他们的观点。

在受访者中，38.5% 的人提到处理异议和投诉的负担，35.6% 的人提到难以确保客观一致的评分，16.9% 的人提到评分时间不足。

另有 16.7% 的教师表示，只有在充分准备之后才能引入作文题，而 6.5% 的教师赞成将作文题限制在选定的科目中，1.5% 的教师表示不确定。

10月7日举行的国会审计中，国家教育委员会主席车正仁表示，委员们正在讨论是否推迟原定于当月晚些时候发布的草案。

委员会原计划于明年三月最终确定改革方案，但一位官员表示，引入书面答复问题的方案仍在审查中。

发布于2026年10月14日下午3:26（韩国标准时间）

课堂案例揭示了重大障碍

9月30日，在京畿道水原市孝元高中，学生们在教室里学习，黑板上标明距离高考还有50天。（韩联社）

一位家长要求学校给孩子英语作文满分，并引用了一位美国大学教授的邮件作为证据。另一起案例中，一所私立学校对孩子的英语考试成绩提出质疑，这场争议最终演变成一场关于部分分数的诉讼。

这些事件出自韩国​​全国中学教师工会近期发布的案例集，揭示了在韩国高考（CSAT）中引入书面回答和作文题，并可能借助人工智能（AI）评分等方式进行辅助的讨论所面临的挑战。该案例集与一项于9月7日至30日期间对2427名初高中教师进行的调查相辅相成。

全美各地的中小学教师表示，持续不断的评分投诉迫使他们不得不设置固定答案的试题。他们警告说，扩大论文式评估的范围可能会加剧争议，并增加他们的工作量。

一些教师描述了鼓励给出多样化、有理有据的答案与制定足够精确的评分标准以应对投诉之间的矛盾。

一位英语老师报告说，一名学生和家长之间的纠纷升级为通过政府在线请愿系统进行的正式投诉。

报告中一位教师表示：“曾在国外生活过的学生和家长凭借丰富的专业知识，引用相关的学术论文和其他辅助材料，对老师提出强有力的质疑。这场争论最终升级为通过政府在线申诉系统进行的投诉。作为回应，老师们开始起草简单明了的问题（以保护自己）。”

一位高中社会研究老师描述了类似的困境：学生们要求对简短、不完整的答案给予分数，理由是这些答案在技术上并没有错。这位老师说，接受这些答案对那些写了更完整答案的学生不公平，但这种争论促使老师设计出更类似于简答题的问题。

这些案例表明，评估改革不仅仅是设计试题：学校还必须建立健全的制度程序来处理评分争议，而不是让个别教师陷入旷日持久的对抗之中。

一些受访者表示，评分争议甚至导致学校聘请私人辅导教师和外部专家参与评估。一位中学数学老师反映，一家私​​立学校的口号是“我们会帮你追回失去的分数”。

韩国国家教育委员会委员长车正仁10月7日在首尔国会出席国会审计听证会并发表讲话。（韩联社）

人工智能正在迅速重塑教育，但也带来了新的难题。虽然一些教师利用它来辅助评估答案，但学生们越来越多地利用它来质疑自己的成绩。

一位中学老师说：“一名学生对我的成绩提出质疑，坚持认为他的答案是正确的，因为人工智能也认同他的答案，所以我的答案是错的。即使我反复解释理由并提供了证据，这名学生仍然坚持引用人工智能的结论，并让我自己去问。”

尝试过人工智能评分的教师也质疑它是否真的节省时间。一位中学韩语教师表示，该系统在处理一般写作题目方面表现尚可，但在处理包含学科特定概念的答案时则显得力不从心。报告中一些教师指出，设置评分标准和核对结果增加了额外的工作量。

当被问及论文式评估为何难以达到预期目的时，38.5%的受访者提到处理异议和投诉的负担，35.6%的受访者指出难以确保评分的客观性和一致性，另有16.9%的受访者提到时间不足以批改大量答卷。受访者最多可以选择两个原因。

当被问及是否应在CSAT考试中引入书面回答题和作文题时，73.5%的受访者表示反对。另有16.7%的受访者认为应在充分准备后引入，而6.5%的受访者则倾向于将其限制在特定科目中。仅有1.8%的受访者完全支持引入，1.5%的受访者表示不确定。

在10月7日举行的国会审计会议上，国家教育委员会委员长车正仁表示，委员会成员正在讨论是否推迟原定于本月晚些时候发布的教育改革方案草案，以便有更多时间进行准备。原计划是本月发布草案，明年3月定稿。

当被问及委员会将如何确保评分客观公正时，一位官员告诉《韩国时报》：“我们正在继续进行公开讨论，以寻求解决这些问题的方法。”该官员补充说，引入笔试形式的提议仍在审查中。