ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the effect of the Free Semester Program on academic achievement using nationwide census data from the National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA), employing a difference-in-differences approach and quantile regression models. We construct a large-scale administrative dataset of approximately 3.52 million students by merging NAEA data (2009–2016) from the EduData system with publicly disclosed school-level information. The results show no statistically significant average effect on academic achievement. Although negative effects are observed in Korean language scores and in certain quantiles of mathematics, their magnitude is extremely small (less than 0.05 standard deviations), making it difficult to interpret them as meaningful declines or evidence of increased educational inequality. These findings suggest that societal concerns about academic decline due to the Free Semester Program are not supported by empirical evidence. However, recent policy adjustments indicate that education policy continues to be influenced more by stakeholder opinions and vague concerns than by rigorous evidence. Therefore, future policy decisions should be grounded in robust, evidence-based evaluations using large-scale administrative data and rigorous research designs.

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