• Korean Journal of Comparative Education
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.127-152
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• 2014

Supplemental Educational Services (SES) are government initiated tutoring services to strengthen basic skills of academically underachieving students and thus close achievement gaps among students. Recently, however, the direction of SES has shifted its gear away from the test-driven accountability system in the United States (US) and Korea. Based on related literature, official documents, and statistics data, this study investigates major aspects of SES in the US and Korea, suggesting implications for future SES in the two countries. Major findings illustrate; 1) SES both in the US and Korea aim to serve students with underachievement yet place a primary emphasis on academics, 2) the US and Korea show contrasting results of SES in students' academic achievement, 3) the US and Korea use different approaches in selecting SES participants, which is closely related to equality in educational opportunities, 4) the major difference between the US and Korea is the openness of real markets for SES. Based on these findings, this study proposes practical implications for future SES in Korea and the US.