No matter how high your test score is, you are still bad: Korean education’s responses to PISA

Students in South Korea (hereafter, Korea) have consistently demonstrated outstanding performance in international tests of student achievement such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), attracting the interest of international scholars and policymakers who attempt to identify the sources of Korean students’ performance. However, at the same time Korean education has been subject to strong criticisms, ofte...