Korean parents spend approximately 10 billion dollars per year for their children's English lessons. But English language competency does not reflect the investment. English is an important avenue for increased globalization in the 21st century. In order to strengthen English proficiency, the Korean government created the National English Ability Test. The test assesses reading, listening, writing and speaking. Since there is a strong IT infrastructure in Korea, the test administration, analysis and reporting area currently computerized. In addition, application, item writing, test analysis, equating and standard setting are performed. At present, there is an online rater-training system which in the future might be fully automated. This system greatly reduces time between administration and reporting. Because of the initial investment, system costs will be reduced over time, and in the near future this type of computer-based system can be disseminated world-wide. Sharing such advances will have global educational effects.
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