Photologue @theuostimes7
Last year, nine out of 10 students from four-year universities received B or higher grades. The "April 2021 University Information Disclosure Analysis Results" was conducted by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education, with a total of 328 universities nationwide participated.
The number of four-year college students who received B or higher in each subject stood at 87.5%, raised 15.8% points from 71.7% in 2019. In particular, the percentage of students who received A grades increased 21.0% point from 33.7% to 54.7% last year.
This grade inflation is interpreted as the result of the absolute evaluation method, which has been expanded due to COVID-19. As they are not allowed to use school facilities through non-face-to-face lectures, many college students demanded a reduction in tuition fees to universities. Instead, universities responded by raising grades. Furthermore, Controversy over fairness caused by non-face-to-face tests also affected the expansion of the absolute evaluation. The grade inflation due to COVID-19 is expected to be a new conflict factor in the job market as graduates who got their evaluation standards before COVID-19 are subject to reverse discrimination.