After cheating, fewer SAT test sessions for Korea

Following the leak of SAT questions that led to the cancellation of the college admissions test in Korea in May, the U.S.-based College Board, which administers the test, announced yesterday it will cut the number of times the test is administered in Korea by a third.

The College Board said the number of times the SAT exam, used for U.S. college applications, is administered will be cut from six to four times in the 2013-14 academic year. The SAT Subject Tests would be cut from six to two times a year.

The SAT exams are held seven times yearly in the United States and usually six times in foreign countries.

In May, the College Board canceled the SAT and SAT Subject Tests in Korea after hagwon, or cram schools, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, allegedly leaked questions, the first time the nonprofit organization canceled a round of tests in Korea.

In June, the SAT Subject Tests Biology tests were canceled.

Since the cancellations, the Korean Ministry of Education has been cracking down on cram schools that coach students for the SATs.

In February, Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office raided an SAT hagwon in Gangnam on suspicion they were using leaked test material.

The College Board and its global test administration and security vendor ETS said Egypt and Saudi Arabia will also get its test schedules trimmed for security reasons.

The College Board said the changes come “after a comprehensive review of ongoing, global security concerns and existing SAT and SAT Subject Test administration policies and procedures,” said ETS Korea officials yesterday.

“Changes to the testing schedule in these countries were made to ensure the security of the test administration process and the validity of the scores reported to colleges and universities,” said ETS.

BY SARAH KIM [sarahkim@joongang.co.kr]