Last year, the share of 9th graders whose math skills fall below the basic proficiency level rose to a record high. Analysts said this is because they experienced "learning loss" during COVID-19 when they were in upper elementary grades (4th–6th) from 2020 to 2022.
The Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) on the 23rd announced the results of the "2025 national academic achievement assessment." In September last year, a sample of 25,992 9th and 11th graders—about 3% of all students at 539 schools—was assessed to diagnose achievement levels in Korean, math, and English, as well as affective domains.
In this assessment, the share of 9th graders at level 1 in math (below basic proficiency) was 14.9%, a statistically significant increase of 2.2 percentage points from the previous year (12.7%). This is the highest level since then since the national academic achievement assessment shifted to a sample-based evaluation in 2017. Other subjects and all subjects for 11th graders remained similar to the previous year.
The Ministry of Education attributed the results to the impact of remote classes during COVID-19. Last year's 9th graders spent 4th–6th grade in elementary school during the three years when COVID-19 spread. In particular, 4th grade is when students move from learning focused on calculation and shapes to understanding concepts and relationships, the point at which math becomes substantially more abstract. The basic concepts were not fully formed during this period, and they likely faced difficulties in the learning process that continued through 9th grade.
Regional gaps were also pronounced. The share of 9th graders at level 1 in math was 19.5% in towns and rural areas, 6.4 percentage points higher than in large cities (13.1%). The share at level 3 or higher (at or above average proficiency) was 37.6% in towns and rural areas, compared with 54.2% in large cities, a gap of 16.6 percentage points. In Korean and English as well, the share at level 3 or higher in middle school was significantly higher in large cities than in towns and rural areas. In high school, there were no significant differences by regional size across all subjects.
Affective attitudes toward math also worsened. The shares of 9th graders reporting "high" confidence, value, and interest in math all fell significantly from the previous year. The share with high math confidence fell from 37.7% to 35.0%, and interest fell from 42.9% to 40.7%. Among students below basic proficiency (level 1), 49.5% reported "low" math confidence, four times the share among students at or above average proficiency (level 3 or higher) at 12.4%.
To boost math confidence and interest, the Ministry of Education plans to support hands-on, inquiry-centered classes and student-participatory math activities, and to strengthen small-group supplemental instruction and 1:1 mentoring after school and during vacations. The Ministry of Education said, "Based on analysis of the assessment results, we will support students so they can fully build learning abilities and emotional competencies through public education."