AI grades written and essay-type answers… Experience for 300 elementary and middle school students in Seoul

Seoul Office of Education ‘Thinking Camp’… From exploration and discussion to AI scoring and feedback

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Bo-ram = While plans to introduce and expand written and essay-type evaluations in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and internal academic records are being discussed, 300 elementary and middle school students in Seoul will experience written and essay-type evaluations using artificial intelligence (AI).

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 14th that it will run the '2026 Thought Writing Camp' at Gyeongdong Elementary School and Seongsan Middle School in Seoul for 300 6th grade elementary school and 3rd grade middle school students to experience everything from exploration, discussion, and writing to AI grading and customized feedback.

Students completed preliminary reading activities on topics such as climate change last month, and on the day of the camp, they will participate in four inquiry-oriented classes and two sessions of written and essay-type evaluation and feedback activities.

For evaluation, ‘Chaeum AI’, an AI written and essay-type evaluation support system developed by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is used.

Chaeum AI is a program that assists teachers in their evaluation tasks by having AI grade written and essay-type answers written by students and provide feedback.

Teachers use Chaeum AI to create evaluation questions, and students check their thinking processes and learning content through individually tailored feedback.

This camp is being held while the National Education Commission is reviewing ways to introduce and expand essay and essay questions in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and internal academic records, respectively.

The National Policy Commission is pushing to expand written and essay-type evaluations with the goal of overcoming the limitations of existing multiple-choice-based evaluations, but there are mixed opinions on the fairness of AI grading and the possibility of increased private education.

Cha Jeong-in, chairman of the National Education Commission, said in a National Assembly audit last month that he was considering a plan to expand the internal grades first before introducing essay and essay-type evaluations in the CSAT so that public education can adequately prepare for them.

The National Education Commission believes that additional discussions are needed on issues such as the introduction of written and essay-type assessments, and has postponed the announcement of the national education development plan, including a plan to reform the college entrance system, until within the year.

Jeong Geun-sik, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "Written and essay-type evaluations do not evaluate students' writing skills, but are class-based evaluations that allow students to expand their thinking and express themselves logically based on what they have learned. We will actively support the activation of written and essay-type evaluations based on curriculum and classes in schools."