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Nation holds breath for most crucial test |
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A mother of a student taking the College Scholastic Ability Test prays for a good result at Incheon Girls’ High School in Incheon, Thursday. About 690,000 applicants took the annual state-administered test at some 1,200 venues. / Yonhap |
690,000 take college entrance exam
By Na Jeong-ju, Yun Suh-young
Some 690,000 applicants took the annual state-administered college entrance exam at some 1,200 venues Thursday, with both test writers and students saying the exam was easier than before.
All landings and take-offs at airports were put on hold and car drivers lowered their speed near the test sites during listening comprehension exams so as not to disturb students. Traffic was banned from within 200 meters of the test places until the nine-hour-long exam finished at 5:35 p.m.
As in previous years, families, friends and school juniors of test-takers gathered around the venues, cheering and wishing all the best for them. Some parents accompanied their children in the morning to encourage and relax them. Some were seen praying outside schools where they were taking the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
‘Hit CSAT jackpot’
In front of Pungmoon Girls’ High School in Seoul, one of the test centers, about 60 students and parents gathered early in the morning to wish good luck to applicants entering the school.
They shouted “Sooneung Daebak!,” which means “Hit the jackpot on the CSAT!,” every time a student arrived in front of the school gate. School juniors of the same high school encouraged their seniors, saying, “Do well in the exam, dear senior.”
Parents stood in front of the gate anxiously looking through its bars during test hours.
“I’ve been praying for a year,” said Chung Soo-hee, a 77-year-old grandmother of a student. “I’m here on behalf of her parents. I’m so anxious. I hope she does well.”
Inside the school building, the atmosphere was tense. Just before the test began, students took a last-minute look at their notebooks and textbooks. Some closed their eyes praying.
The test also drew attention from international media.
A correspondent from Kyusu-Asahi Broadcasting Company said he was there to report on the event because the Japanese are fascinated by the cheering on the sidelines.
“In Japan, parents don’t come in front of schools to cheer for their children. The Japanese are very much interested in this kind of scene,” he said.
The weather was unusually mild. Chilly weather used to hit the nation on the day of the test, but this wasn’t the case this year.
One applicant was expelled from the test in Seoul after being caught trying to cheat.
The student entered the venue with a portable wireless receiver, a mobile phone and a data transmission device. The applicant, who has a disability, attempted to take advantage of the longer test time given to disabled students in order to receive answers through them, according to the education ministry.
“An investigation is now underway to see whether there were any similar violations in the past and who helped the student,” a ministry spokesman said. “The student admitted having the intention of cheating.”
Higher scores expected
The annual test, consisting of five sections — Korean language, mathematics, English, social and natural sciences and a second foreign language — is crucial for students when applying to their favored universities. Four-year colleges and universities nationwide plan to admit 328,119 freshmen for the 2012 academic year.
The ministry said the number of test-takers dropped 2.6 percent from last year to 693,634, of which about three-quarters were high school students and 22 percent were graduates. Applicants will be individually notified of their test scores on Nov. 30.
“We took some 70 percent of questions from CSAT workbooks published by the public broadcaster EBS to make the test easier,” Lee Heung-soo, the chief test writer, told reporters. “Students could expect higher scores than average. In each section, 1 percent of applicants should be able to get a perfect score.”
Meanwhile, a civic group opposing college admission exams held a rally in front of Seoul Finance Center.
In a statement, it called on the government to drop the competition-oriented education system and initiate measures to help children live with dignity and nurture their potential, while not being evaluated by test scores.
The protest was joined by 18 students who have quit school and their parents.
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수능 일제히 시작…69만명 응시
`수능한파' 없어…EBS 연계문항 70% 안팎
2012학년도 대학수학능력시험이 10일 오전 8시40분부터 전국 84개 시험지구 1천207개 시험장에서 일제히 실시됐다.
올해 수능에는 작년(71만2천227명)보다 2.6% 줄어든 69만3천634명이 응시원서를 냈다. 재학생은 52만6천420명으로 전체의 75.9%이며 졸업생은 15만1천888명(21.9%), 검정고시 등 출신자는 1만5천326명(2.2%)이다.
시험은 1교시 언어, 2교시 수리, 3교시 외국어(영어), 4교시 사회ㆍ과학ㆍ직업탐구, 5교시 제2외국어/한문 등 5개 영역이며 오후 5시35분까지 진행된다.
이날 오전 7시 기준으로 전국이 흐린 가운데 제주도는 비가 내렸으며 서울 11.2도, 광주 13.9도, 대구 11.7도, 부산 13.8도 등 대부분 지역의 아침 기온이 영상을 기록해 `입시 한파'는 나타나지 않았다. 수험생들은 그다지 춥지 않은 날씨 속에 시험장에 도착했다.
수험생들은 오전 8시10분까지 시험장 입실을 마친 뒤 현재 차분한 분위기 속에서 1교시 시험에 임하고 있다.
이주호 교육과학기술부 장관은 오전 8시10분 서울 종로구 계동에 있는 중앙고를 방문해 수험생과 시험감독 관계자들을 격려했다.
이번 수능은 영역별 만점자 비율 1%, EBS 수능교재와의 연계율 70%를 목표로 쉽게 출제한다는 것이 교육당국의 방침이다.
최근 수년간 지속돼 온 `쉬운 수능' 기조에 따라 전반적인 난이도는 작년 수준과 비슷하게 유지한 것으로 알려졌다.
수험생들이 시험장에 도착하는 데 지장이 없도록 이날 제주도를 제외한 전국 시 지역과 시험장이 설치된 군 지역의 관공서 및 기업체 출근시간이 오전 9시에서 오전 10시로 1시간 늦춰졌다.
수도권의 전철 및 지하철은 러시아워 운행시간이 오전 7∼9시에서 오전 6∼10시로 2시간 길어지고 운행횟수는 35회 가량 늘어났다. 시내버스는 시험장행 표지를 붙이고 시험장 안내방송을 하며 개인택시 부제 운행은 해제됐다.
시험장 주변 교통혼잡을 막기 위해 전방 200ｍ부터 차량 출입이 통제됐다.
경찰은 '112 수험생 긴급수송 콜센터'를 가동, 수험생들을 순찰차나 사이드카에 태워 시험장까지 데려다 줬다. 시험장 주변 2㎞ 이내에서는 불법 주정차 단속을 강화했다.
1교시 언어영역 듣기 평가가 실시되는 오전 8시40분부터 8시53분까지 13분간, 3교시 외국어영역 듣기 평가가 있는 오후 1시10분부터 1시30분까지 20분간을 전후해 소음을 방지하기 위해 항공기 이착륙이 통제된다.
EBS는 이날 오후 7시20분부터 8시50분까지 수능정답을 해설하고 오후 10시50분부터 다음날 오전 1시10분까지 시험 내용을 분석하는 특별생방송을 진행한다.
출제기관인 한국교육과정평가원은 14일까지 수능 문제 및 정답에 대한 이의 신청을 받는다.
수능 점수는 이달 30일 수험생에게 개별 통지된다. 이 성적을 토대로 대학별 수시모집 합격자가 12월11일까지 발표되고 12월12∼14일 등록을 받는다. 올해 처음 도입된 수시모집 미등록 충원 등록기간은 12월15∼20일이다.
정시모집은 12월22일부터 가,나,다 군별로 시행된다. 추가모집은 내년 2월24∼29일까지 엿새간이다. (연합)
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jj@koreatimes.co.krysy@koreatimes.co.kr |
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