Students with above-average academic performance show significantly higher achievement when they attend high schools in education-focused districts such as Seoul's Gangnam 8th District, a new study found. The finding helps explain why parents often stretch their finances, including taking out bank loans, to relocate to school districts like Daechi-dong. The ancient Chinese tale of "Mencius' Mother Moving Three Times" appears to remain a valid strategy in the 21st century.
According to a Korea Development Institute (KDI) report released Tuesday that analyzed data from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study, students assigned to high schools with higher average academic performance outperformed those assigned to lower-performing schools on both the first-year high school academic assessment and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
The report divided high schools into "Group A," representing the top 50% in academic achievement, and "Group B," representing the bottom 50%. Students who attended Group A schools scored 3.8 to 4.7 points higher on the CSAT standard score than those who attended Group B schools. Group A students were also 3.14% more likely to achieve "above average" ratings in Korean and 3.3% more likely in mathematics on the first-year academic assessment.
"Self-efficacy and locus of control were not major variables in improving academic achievement, while improvements in students' 'learning motivation' appeared to influence academic performance," the report said. "Each school's know-how in enhancing learning motivation is likely one of the key mechanisms driving improvements in academic performance."
The performance-boosting effect of attending top-tier schools was pronounced among students already in the top 50% academically but was not observed among those in the bottom 50%. On CSAT mathematics standard scores, bottom-50% students saw no improvement when attending Group A schools, while top-50% students saw their scores rise by about 8 points. For CSAT foreign language, top-50% students at Group A schools saw gains of more than 5 points, while bottom-50% students saw no effect. However, in Korean language, top-50% students saw no score improvement regardless of which school group they attended.
"Based on students' middle school achievement levels, those with insufficient prior abilities did not benefit from attending Group A schools, while only students with medium or higher achievement enjoyed the benefit," the report said. "This result can also be interpreted as top-performing schools concentrating their educational resources on a select group of students likely to perform well in college entrance exams." The report also noted that while Group A schools significantly improved academic performance, differences were difficult to detect in non-cognitive capabilities such as students' values and self-identity.
So why does this phenomenon occur under Korea's current secondary education system, where budgets are similar across schools and rotating assignments make it difficult to concentrate excellent teachers at specific schools? According to the report, the reasons include teacher competence, a positive school atmosphere, and the maintenance of school discipline. "Students attending Group A schools experience relatively superior teacher competence and a more positive school climate," the report said. "This suggests that qualitative school characteristics, such as teacher competence, cooperation among school members, and strict adherence to school rules, may have a greater impact on student academic achievement than quantitative characteristics such as the ratio of full-time teachers, student-teacher ratios, and school campus size." In short, non-quantitative indicators such as learning atmosphere, teachers' motivation, and teaching capabilities determine the capability gap between schools.
The report argues that narrowing the educational gap between schools requires improving the learning atmosphere and enhancing teacher capabilities. "Korea is making efforts to reduce the educational gap between schools through the teacher rotation system, but there are clear differences in students' perceptions of teacher competence across schools," the report said. "These differences appear to stem from teachers' concentration in preferred school groups, the existence of private schools that are not subject to rotational transfers, and differences in the atmosphere formed among teacher groups at each school."
Commenting on the findings, an education industry official said, "Learning atmosphere inevitably varies by school, and teachers' motivation to teach is significantly influenced by this atmosphere." The official added, "Schools deemed to have a poor academic atmosphere need to expand dedicated student guidance staff, and regulations such as 'prohibition of infringing on others' right to learn' should be established in addition to 'student human rights' to raise the academic atmosphere."
