Admissions
In 2011, Daewon put into effect an entirely new admissions procedure that effectively superseded the admissions examination. The change was mandated by a government directive that required all Special Purpose High Schools to select students based on a uniform two-step procedure that involved middle school English subject scores and a brief interview. The new system eliminated the English listening examination that had been the centerpiece of the previous admissions system, in addition to forbidding the school from considering students based on scores from other subjects or extracurricular achievements. This change followed another government mandate, which had in 2010 limited the area from which the school could receive applications to within the bounds of the capital city, Seoul.
These mandates were part of President Lee Myung-bak's education policy, which aimed to expand access to specialized secondary education. The policy has met with mixed results and reactions: while more students from financially challenged families could enter Daewon under the new quota system, the new system has also been widely criticized for being unable to accurately assess applicants' language abilities, since it is blind to certified language tests such as the TOEFL examination. The school continues to accept athletically gifted students with exceptional abilities in golf without regard for academic performance.
Read more about this topic: Daewon Foreign Language High School