The School Equalization Policy of Korea: Past Failures and Proposed Measure for Reform

This paper argues that Korea's educational equalization policy has failed to achieve its major policy goals, which are to improve educational equality and to reduce the economic burden of private tutoring and minimize the negative side effects of exam-oriented education. We also suggest that the equalization policy has lowered levels of academic achievement by limiting students and parents' choice of schools, and by strengthening the government's control over schools. We also explain the political-economic reasons why the equalization policy has been maintained over the last 30 years, despite its evident negative effects. We conclude that the equalization policy should be overhauled through a number of reform measures, such as providing school choice, disclosing the differences between schools, increasing the autonomy of school units, and strengthening governmental support for students with lower academic achievement.1