At the end of their university-training program, new teachers seeking employment in public schools must take the Teacher Employment Test (TET)
(Kwon & Ju, 2012).
Teacher vacancies in public schools are filled by students with the highest scores. Private schools have their own procedures for teacher selection that vary by institution.
The TET for mathematics teachers consists of three areas: general education,
mathematics education, and mathematics content knowledge.
The TET is given in three stages including a written test, an essay, and a teaching demonstration and interview.
Only 4.4% and 4.1% of the students taking the TET were hired as public school teachers
in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
This illustrates the intense competition and rigor required in
the Korean teaching profession.
Students, who initially do not do well enough on the TET to obtain employment, either continue with their studies (often in hagwons) to retake the test the following year or alternatively, enroll in a graduate program.