High school credit system to go into effect in 2025

The “high school credit system,” which allows students to choose subjects they want according to their career paths and aptitudes, will be fully implemented as planned in 2025, when middle school second graders enter high school, the Ministry of Education said Wednesday.

Announcing measures to improve the competitiveness of public education, the ministry also said autonomous private and foreign language high schools will continue to retain their status, contrary to the previous Moon Jae-in administration’s plan to convert them into regular high schools in 2025.

The blueprint for the high school credit system was unveiled by the Moon administration in 2021, with its implementation year set at 2025.

The new system places a heavy emphasis on student choice and aims to resolve chronic educational problems due to the standardized curriculum by expanding the elective curriculum and diversifying the curriculum. It also calls for adjusting class hours according to the purpose of the credit system.

Contrary to the purpose of the credit system, however, the achievement evaluation system for school grades, a kind of absolute grading system, will not be entirely enforced for high school students, the ministry said.

In the case of common subjects for high school first graders, both achievement and relative evaluation systems will be simultaneously used to ensure the fairness of the high school grading system, it noted. In the case of elective subjects, only the achievement evaluation system will be used, it added.

In addition, the ministry announced plans to increase the number of public online schools, intended to further expand subject options for students, from the current four to 17 by 2025, and establish regional high school credit system support centers to strengthen cooperation between schools and enterprises.