The operator of the main U.S. college admission test has decided to cut the number of its tests administered in South Korea after a recent revelation of pervasive cheating surfaced, its website showed Tuesday.
The number of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) dates offered in the country will be cut from six to four for the 2013-2014 academic year, while the SAT Subject Tests, the U.S. national admissions tests, are planned to be administered twice, according to the College Board.
The SAT is held seven times per year in the U.S. and usually six times in other countries, including, up until now, South Korea, with the Subject Tests being offered six times.
The move came after several local cram schools providing SAT lectures were caught for leaking questions to test-takers, prompting the U.S. test operator to cancel the scheduled May 4 session and another biology test for June. It was the first time that the SAT test has been called off in an entire country.
Several private institutions involved in the leakage scandal have been under prosecution investigation, and the education authorities forcibly shut down eight schools for violating relevant rules.
Those in charge of the test schedule and related policy on the College Board were not immediately available to comment on if the reduction has something to do with the leakage cases. One official simply said test schedules for any country are subject to change. (Yonhap News)
