Student handout — Discussion & Debate
Korea Scrapped "Killer Questions" From the Suneung, and Your Students Are Split
Discussion: Killer Questions and the Suneung
Background: In 2023, Korea removed "killer questions" (킬러 문항 — killeo munhang) from the CSAT to reduce the advantage of expensive private tutoring.
Vocabulary
- private tutoring / hagwon prep
- fairness
- test difficulty
- loophole
- standardized test
Discuss with your group
- Is it fair that wealthier families can pay for tutoring on the hardest questions?
- Without killer questions, how does the test still tell top students apart?
- If other questions got slightly harder instead, is that a fair trade?
- Does this policy actually cut hagwon spending, or just move it elsewhere?
- Should the CSAT keep changing its format?
Debate table
| For removing killer questions | Against (or: it didn't solve the problem) |
|---|---|
Finish the sentence
A fairer Suneung would ___________________________________.