‘Saved on academy consulting fees’... The secret to a top grade in school records is all in ‘School Info’

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[The Financial News] As school evaluation methods become more diversified with the introduction of the high school credit system, dependence on private tutoring for school record preparation is rising. But before spending money on cram schools, students can already access free information that shows everything from the number of regular exams to the detailed scoring breakdown for performance assessments.
According to the Ministry of Education and KEDI on the 3rd, School Info is a platform operated by the ministry that allows anyone to freely access key information, including academic achievement and evaluation plans, for about 12,000 elementary, middle and high schools nationwide. Each April and September, schools upload new grade-level and subject-specific learning materials, and the materials for this semester were also released on April 30. In other words, now, in the middle of the semester, is the best time to use it.
If users download the section on "teaching, learning and evaluation plans by subject and grade," they can check the areas covered by performance assessments, the weighting applied, grading criteria, the number of regular tests, and the converted weighting at a glance. Information that many families would otherwise pay extra for at academies — such as whether both midterms and finals are given, how many categories performance assessments are divided into, and how points are assigned to each category — is already available through official channels.
The platform is even more useful for high schools. Grading systems vary by subject, and even if two schools in the same area offer the same course, the method for calculating grades can differ depending on class size. The criteria used to distinguish achievement levels, known as split scores, also vary from school to school and subject to subject, with some using fixed split scores and others using estimated split scores. Fixed split scores set benchmark achievement rates at specific raw scores, such as 90 or 80 points, while estimated split scores are determined by teachers based on factors such as question difficulty and subject characteristics. This information can also be checked through School Info. As the high school credit system expands the number of elective courses, it can help students choose subjects by identifying in advance whether a course has a high performance-assessment ratio or a high regular-exam ratio.
However, relatively few parents actually make full use of the platform. Many also confuse School Info with services such as e-Reminder, which schools use to send notices home, or class communication apps like HiClass and School Bell. School Info began operating in 2008 alongside the introduction of the school information disclosure system for elementary and secondary schools, and anyone can use it without creating an account. Most school websites also include a banner that links directly to School Info. Critics say relying on private tutoring without first reviewing publicly available information can ultimately lead to unnecessary spending.
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monarch@fnnews.com Kim Man-ki Reporter