The KSIF’s ‘Sejong Korean Language Assessment Multi-Stage Adaptive test(iSKA)’, adopted at Vanderbilt University, USA

> Following the business agreement signed with Vanderbilt University in September last year, the first assessment test was conducted on campus

> The Sejong Korean Language Assessment Multi-Stage Adaptive test(iSKA) is expected to be implemented at other universities and institutions both domestically and internationally

On April 20, the ‘Sejong Korean Language Assessment Multi-Stage Adaptive test(iSKA)’ by the King Sejong Institute Foundation(President Lee Hai-young, hereafter referred to as the KSIF) was administered to students of the Asian Studies department at the prestigious Vanderbilt University in the USA. This assessment followed the business agreement signed in September last year between the KSIF and Vanderbilt University to conduct the Sejong Korean Assessment(SKA).

The assessment, held twice at Vanderbilt University, was attended by 50 students who tested their Korean language communication skills comprehensively across four areas: listening, reading, writing, and speaking, over a duration of two hours(120 minutes). Developed by the KSIF, the iSKA is an internet-based assessment where the difficulty of the test items adjusts incrementally based on the examinee's proficiency, a first in the field of Korean language education. Unlike traditional assessments where all examinees face the same questions, iSKA automatically adjusts the difficulty of the questions according to the examinees' levels.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University, a top-tier private university located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, decided to adopt the iSKA to measure the Korean language abilities of students majoring in Korean in its Asian Studies departm

Professor Jang Seok-bae, who teaches Korean at Vanderbilt University’s Asian Studies department, said, "The KSIF's iSKA, while assessing the same four areas as the traditional paper-based Sejong Korean Assessment(SKA), is conducted via computer, and the assessment duration is reduced by 50 minutes, which I believe will effectively help in evaluating the students' Korean language skills," explaining the rationale for its introduction.

The KSIF plans to continue efforts to expand the test sites for ‘iSKA’ among universities and Korean language institutions both domestically and internationally that require tools to measure Korean language proficiency. President Lee Hai-young of the KSIF expressed his pride and future aspirations, stating, "It is a source of pride that iSKA is being utilized at a distinguished American university like Vanderbilt, and we will strive to ensure that the Sejong Korean Assessment(SKA) is widely used for purposes like admissions and employment."