South Korean junior high school students' math

Recently, KBS TV reported on the 13th that the results of a survey conducted by the Korean extracurricular tutoring institution "Jongno Gakuin" on 3277 junior high schools nationwide are worrying. Data shows that in the first half of this year, more than one-third (35.2%) of junior high school students scored below 60 points in mathematics. Among the five major subjects of Mandarin, English, mathematics, science, and society, the problem of mathematics scores is the most prominent. Following closely behind is English, with a low score rate of 29.6%; Science accounts for 29.3%; Society is 21.9%; 18% of students scored below 60 points in Mandarin. Seoul News pointed out that compared to other major subjects, the phenomenon of low scores in mathematics is particularly evident, and there are significant regional differences. The problem of "those who give up mathematics" is becoming increasingly serious.

The survey also showed that there were 374 schools where more than half of the students scored below 60 in mathematics, accounting for 11.4% of the total surveyed schools, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from 8.2% last year. Meanwhile, the average math score of junior high school students is 68.6 points, which has also declined compared to last year's 69.7 points.

The differences between regions are equally significant. Gangwon Province, Gyeongsangbuk Province, and Chungcheongnam Province have high math scores, while Ulsan has the lowest. According to the analysis of Zhonglu College, mathematics is the most difficult subject for middle school students to master, and a large number of students choose to give up.

In view of this, Zhonglu College suggests that parents and students conduct in-depth analysis of their junior high school grades, so that they can consider their own advantages more targetedly and make more appropriate choices when choosing high school in the 2025 academic year. The current situation of mathematics scores among middle school students in South Korea deserves joint attention and reflection from the education sector, parents, and students.