Reports say the CSAT may shift to absolute grading for all subjects and add constructed-response and essay questions.
On August 3, the National Education Commission said that “nothing has been finalized.”
Let’s first sort out how far this discussion has actually progressed.
3-Line Summary
1. The CSAT absolute-grading reform has not yet been finalized.
2. The implementation timing being discussed is college admissions for the 2032 academic year.
3. The final plan is expected to be finalized next March.
First, Is Your Child Affected?
The implementation timing mentioned in reports is college admissions for the 2032 academic year. That is when today’s sixth-grade elementary school students will go to college.
If your child is currently in high school or middle school, this discussion does not apply to them. If your child is in the upper elementary grades, there is reason to watch it.
However, this timing has not been finalized either; it is a figure that emerged during the discussion process. Please read everything below with the understanding that it is all “under review.”
What Was Said on August 3
The National Education Commission’s statement was brief.
It said that review and discussion are underway within the Special Committee on the College Admissions System, an advisory body, and that no matters related to the college admissions system have been finalized.
It also announced the schedule. It said that the direction of the college admissions system would be included in the National Education Development Plan for 2028 through 2037, with the final plan to be finalized next March.
In other words, it is currently at the pre-decision stage, with more than six months remaining.
What Has Reportedly Been Discussed
According to some media reports, the Special Committee is reviewing the following measures.
Currently, only English, Korean History, and the second foreign language/Classical Chinese are graded on an absolute scale. Reports say that a plan to shift Korean language, mathematics, and elective subjects to absolute grading as well is under discussion. A five-level grading system, the addition of constructed-response and essay questions, and moving the exam date forward to September have also been mentioned.
A grading method was also discussed: artificial intelligence in the first stage, an assessment panel in the second stage, and a verification system in the third stage.
To reiterate, these are reported discussion items, not finalized policies.
How Are Absolute and Relative Grading Different?
This is the key point for understanding the issue.
Under relative grading, your grade is determined not by your score but by your rank. Even with the same score of 90, your grade falls if everyone else did well and rises if everyone else did poorly. Korean language and mathematics currently use this method.
Under absolute grading, your grade is determined by pre-set score ranges. English currently works this way. A score of 90 or higher earns Grade 1 regardless of how many points anyone else received. Other students’ scores do not affect your grade.
This difference produces a result: under absolute grading, far more students fall within the same grade level. That means a single test becomes less effective at ranking students.
Universities then seek to distinguish students using other materials. This is followed by a trend toward giving more weight to school grades, school records, essays, and interviews. It is also what actually happened after English shifted to absolute grading.
The burden does not disappear; it shifts. Where it shifts is the real issue in this discussion.
Why Constructed-Response and Essay Questions Are Difficult: Grading
Constructed-response questions themselves are a format schools have always used. What makes them difficult on the CSAT is the scale.
Several hundred thousand students take the exam on the same day. When answers are written in sentences, graders may differ in their judgment—and those differences immediately become an issue of fairness. The grading period also becomes longer. The current CSAT schedule, from grading through score notification, is intertwined with the entire college admissions schedule.
This is the context behind discussion of initial grading by artificial intelligence. However, this is still at the idea stage, and using it in practice would itself require verification.
What to Do Now—and What You Do Not Need to Do
Do not overhaul study plans before anything is finalized. This does not apply to current middle- and high-school students.
If you are the parent of an upper-elementary student, just remember the schedule. Finalization of the National Education Development Plan next March is the first key milestone.
When reading reports, distinguish between “under review” and “finalized.” College admissions systems change several times even after they are announced.
If a private education consultation recommends something based on a reform plan that has not yet been finalized, it is reasonable to ask where that basis came from.
More Than the Grading System: Where Does That Share Go?
Absolute grading for all CSAT subjects and the introduction of constructed-response and essay questions are under discussion, and the National Education Commission has said that nothing has been finalized. The implementation timing being discussed is the 2032 academic year, and the final plan is expected to be finalized next March.
Absolute grading reduces the exam’s ability to differentiate among students, but shifts that role to other admission factors. When reading articles about reform proposals, rather than focusing on whether there will be five or nine grade levels, look at whether the reduced differentiating function shifts to school grades or to essays. That will show the likely impact on your family first.
Updates on the discussion can be found in the press release and meeting results sections of the National Education Commission website. Its wording is more cautious than media reports, but it clearly distinguishes between “under review” and “finalized.”
References
- NewsPim August 3, 2026 report — National Education Commission position
- SBS National Education Commission: “Nothing has been finalized”
- News1 Report on discussions of college admissions reform
The National Education Commission’s position and schedule, as well as the discussion items, are based on the reports above. The explanation of the difference between absolute and relative grading reflects the general features of the current system.