Given the great impact of teachers on the quality of education, much attention has been
placed on the evaluation of effectiveness for teacher preparation programs. As such, no one
denies the importance of the teacher selection examination in Korea. This is because not only
(does) the examination is to select teachers for the classrooms, but it also influences significantly
the curriculum and instruction in teacher preparation programs in colleges. This study analyzed
the test items of science PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) that were included in the
primary examinations of 2008 to 2013 for recruiting secondary school science teachers in Korea
using the Standards for Science Teacher Preparation (NSTA & NCATE, 2003, 2012) and the
Texas Examinations of Educator Standards [TExES] (TEA, 2013). The findings show that while
some of the standards such as the nature of science (NOS), inquiry, pedagogical theories, and
curriculum have been emphasized on the examinations, other important standards including
safety & ethics, STS, tools & technology and integration have been ignored. Currently, since the
innovative education has been launched in the curriculum and instruction along with the new
goals of education in Korea, there is a great need for the innovation of teacher education
programs including research-based standards for the examination in order to reflect the current
goals and emphasis in education.