As dropout rates rise and controversy over so-called "grade resets" persists following the reform of high school internal grading from a nine-tier to a five-tier system starting in the 2025 academic year, the Ministry of Education has released related data. The ministry said current statistics alone make it difficult to conclude that the five-tier grading system is the cause of the increase in dropouts.
According to the Ministry of Education on Thursday, the number of first-year dropouts at general high schools rose from 6,112 in the 2021 academic year to 7,880 in 2022, 9,373 in 2023, 9,346 in 2024, and 10,006 in 2025. However, the ministry explained that the number of dropouts in the 2025 academic year did not increase significantly compared with previous years, and that various factors—including difficulty adjusting to school life, interpersonal relationships, psychological and emotional factors, departure abroad, and illness—can have a combined effect.
An increase in dropouts among top-tier students was also not clearly confirmed in the statistics. The average grade of first-year high school dropouts in the 2025 academic year was 3.7 under the five-tier system, equivalent to 6.7 when converted to the nine-tier system. This is lower than 6.2 in the 2023 academic year and 6.3 in 2024. The proportion of students in the top grade tier among first-year general high school dropouts was 6.72 percent, up slightly from the previous year but down compared with the 2023 academic year. The number of students who re-enrolled after dropping out for a so-called "grade reset" was also similar to the previous year's level.
The ministry also explained that internal grading provides sufficient differentiation. Among first-year high school students in the 2025 academic year, 4,659 received a top grade in all subjects across both the first and second semesters, a 38 percent decrease from the first semester. The ministry also said that because more universities will use school records as an evaluation factor in regular admissions starting in the 2028 academic year, dropping out solely to prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test may not necessarily be an advantageous strategy.
"Universities are operating their admissions in a direction that comprehensively evaluates students' potential and diligence rather than simply grades," a Ministry of Education official said. "Rather than hastily deciding to drop out based solely on grade advantages or disadvantages, it is important to faithfully continue school life and develop one's possibilities."
