Does Suneung English exam gauge real-world proficiency?

Forget the SAT. Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), or Suneung, includes an English section so notoriously difficult that some students have likened it to deciphering an ancient script. Far from being a routine exam, it features dense passages and difficult vocabulary that even fluent English speakers say they are left second-guessing themselves — turning a test intended to measure proficiency into something closer to a national exercise in linguistic frustration. But despite recurring criticism that the exam’s complexity goes far beyond what high school students can reasonably handle, experts argue that the test is designed not to measure simple language proficiency but to gauge students’ analytical and learning potential once they enter university. Still, they warn that the extreme competitiveness surrounding the exam may be producing negative side effects, including excessive stress and an unhealthy test-driven learning culture. “In general, I find the difficulty level of the questions ridiculous — I’d wager that a high percentage of native speakers would strWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times