"I heard my child took the basic academic diagnostic test back in March, but I've never once been told how they actually did." Many Korean parents say exactly this — and there's a reason. Until now, notifying guardians of diagnostic test results was never a legal requirement; it was left entirely to each school's discretion. That's about to change. Starting in 2027, an amended law will require school principals to notify guardians of the results. Here's why notification hasn't been happening, what's changing, and what you can do right now to check your child's results.

The test has run every year, but notifying parents was never required

Every elementary, middle, and high school in Korea runs a basic academic diagnostic test starting in early March each year. Online testing opens on March 4, schools may also administer it on paper depending on their setup, and most finish by April. The trouble comes after the test. Based on the results, a principal designates students found to lack basic academic ability as "students requiring learning support" under Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Academic Achievement Guarantee Act — but separately from that designation, whether the raw score or level was shared with guardians was left to the school's judgment. Guardians of students who weren't designated had even less of a path to ever seeing the results.

The amendment was promulgated on April 28, 2026 — notification becomes mandatory in 2027

The amendment changing this structure passed the National Assembly's plenary session on March 31, 2026, and was promulgated on April 28 of the same year. Its core provision is simple: if a school administers the basic academic diagnostic test, it must notify the student's guardian of the results. The reasoning behind the amendment was that, because notification had been left to school discretion, families had struggled to get an accurate picture of their child's basic academic level. It takes effect the year after promulgation — starting in 2027.

How results will be communicated hasn't been decided yet

What hasn't been settled is exactly how results will be communicated. At a meeting of the Basic Academic Achievement Guarantee Committee on August 27, 2026, committee chair and Vice Minister of Education Choi Eun-ok discussed specific methods for notifying guardians of literacy and numeracy diagnostic results. The Ministry of Education says it plans to design a notification method that lets guardians understand their child's basic academic level in concrete terms and lets schools and families coordinate support — but details such as whether it will be a printed notice sent home or an alert through the NEIS parent portal are still under discussion. Until 2027, notification practices may still vary from school to school.

Results are, in principle, never disclosed outside the school

Separate from the notification mandate, external disclosure of diagnostic test results remains prohibited in principle. The only exception is when results are provided to an outside specialist institution for the purpose of basic academic support. In other words, notifying the guardian directly and releasing that information beyond the school are treated as entirely separate matters. Cases where information is passed to support institutions such as Dodream Schools or a Comprehensive Learning Clinic Center fall under this exception.

Want to check now? Start with NEIS and a talk with the homeroom teacher

Even before notification becomes a legal requirement, there are ways to check results today. One is looking up your child's academic information through the NEIS parent service, and another is simply asking the homeroom teacher directly whether your child was tested and whether they were designated as needing learning support. For younger elementary students in particular, your child may already be receiving separate remedial instruction through the literacy screening and free support programs schools already run, so it's worth confirming this together during a teacher conference.

What happens once a child is designated as needing learning support

Once a principal, following review by a designated committee, selects a student as needing learning support, the student is connected either to Dodream School, an in-school support program, or to a Comprehensive Learning Clinic Center run by the local education office as outside-school support. Dodream School works by having the homeroom teacher, subject teachers, and counseling staff form a team to give tailored instruction to students whose needs go beyond regular classroom teaching, while a Comprehensive Learning Clinic Center is where the education office steps in directly when school-level instruction alone isn't enough. If your child previously received a recommendation for a recheck or in-depth evaluation on an infant/toddler developmental screening, it's worth keeping in mind that a similar pattern of connected support may follow through the elementary diagnostic test as well.

Putting it in order

① Every year from early March through April, schools administer the basic academic diagnostic test online or on paper. ② Based on the results, the principal — after review by a designated committee — selects students needing learning support (Basic Academic Achievement Guarantee Act, Article 8, Paragraph 1). ③ Selected students are connected to Dodream School (in-school) or a Comprehensive Learning Clinic Center (outside-school). ④ Under the amendment promulgated on April 28, 2026, starting in 2027 every guardian of a tested student must be notified of the results. ⑤ As of September 2026, the Ministry of Education is still working out the notification method, so until then, checking directly through the NEIS parent service or a homeroom teacher conference is the fastest route. ⑥ External disclosure of results remains prohibited in principle except in specific cases (referral to an outside specialist institution), so protecting your child's learning information also deserves attention.