[2022 CSAT] "Korean easier than last year but maintains discrimination... harder than September"

Shorter Passages Than Last Year, Technology Included Instead of Science
Easier Than June Mock Test but Harder Than September
Admissions Industry Also Says "Similar or Easier Than Last Year"
"Cannot Consider It Easy Due to Last Year's High Difficulty"
Accurate Positioning Important When Planning Regular Admission Strategies

On the morning of the 18th, when the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, examinees were preparing for the exam at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Korean language section was evaluated as similar to or slightly easier than last year's CSAT. It was generally considered easier than the June mock test but more difficult than the September mock test.

On the 18th, Oh Su-seok, a teacher from Somyeong Girls' High School and a member of the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE) college entrance counseling teacher group who analyzed the CSAT Korean language section questions, said, "This year's Korean language section was set at a difficulty level similar to the June mock test and harder than the September mock test," adding, "Considering the recently taken September mock test, students likely felt the difficulty was high."

Entrance Exam Industry: "Slightly Easier than Last Year's CSAT but Harder than September"

Entrance exam experts also evaluated this year's Korean language section as similar to or slightly easier than last year's CSAT but more difficult than the September mock test. Although the passages were shorter, many questions required inference, making some problems challenging to solve. Questions related to the key currency economy (No. 13) and technology (No. 16) were identified as killer questions.

Kim Byung-jin, director of the Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute, said, "The difficulty was similar to last year's CSAT, slightly easier than June, and definitely harder than September," but added, "There will be relative difficulty in parts where the content of the provided passages is applied to the 'choices,' such as questions 8 and 13, and students who struggled with reading comprehension likely secured more time for literature."

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, said, "It was easier than last year's CSAT and the June mock test but harder than the September mock test," and evaluated, "The reading questions on Hegel's dialectics (Nos. 4?9) and the economy related to the key currency (Nos. 10?13) were attempts to differentiate top-tier students, and all elective subjects were set to be easy."

Woo Yeon-cheol, director of the Jinhaksa Entrance Exam Strategy Research Institute, explained, "It was slightly easier than June and harder than September, but considering that last year's CSAT was very difficult, it cannot be regarded as an easy exam," adding, "Except for the humanities passage dealing with dialectics linked to EBS textbooks, the reading passages were short, and the difficulty of the science and technology passages, which students fear, was not high, so it was slightly easier than last year's CSAT."

A representative from Uway said, "The speech and writing sections were set similarly to the September mock test and were easy, but questions 35 and 36 in the elective subject Language and Media were based on Middle Korean passages, which likely increased students' perceived difficulty," and evaluated, "There will be some advantages and disadvantages depending on the elective subject in Korean, and those who chose Language and Media generally have good grades and are likely to have high scores in the common subjects."

"Many Questions Require Inferential Thinking... Equipped to Differentiate Top Students"

On the morning of the 18th, when the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, examinees were waiting for the exam at the testing site set up at Yeouido High School in Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

This year's CSAT Korean language section was administered as an integrated humanities and science type, consisting of common and elective subjects. The common subjects included 17 questions each on reading and literature, while the elective subjects included 11 questions each on speech and writing, and language and media.

The common subjects were evaluated as being at a similar level to last year. Kim Yong-jin, a teacher at Dongdae Girls' High School, said, "Perhaps considering the learning gaps caused by COVID-19, the reading passages have become about one level shorter than in the past, making the passages easier," but added, "However, the questions included some that were difficult to solve without precise reading, requiring inferential thinking, showing evidence of effort."

The difficulty was evaluated as similar to or easy compared to last year's CSAT, but it maintained differentiation between top-tier and lower-tier students.

Teacher Oh said, "The usual standard for checking differentiation is the difference between the highest standard score and the first-grade score. Last year's CSAT had a difference of 13 points, the June mock test also 13 points, and September only 3 points," adding, "Since the difficulty was similar to June, it had differentiation for top-tier students but was somewhat difficult for lower-tier students."

However, he advised that since the composition of test takers differs between the June mock test and the CSAT, it is important to accurately understand this when planning regular admission strategies.

Teacher Oh explained, "All current students took the June mock test, but about 50,000 of them were absent on the CSAT day, and about 60,000 graduates additionally took the CSAT," adding, "This can affect the distribution of group scores, so it is premature to conclude that the results will be the same as June."

He advised, "Last year's absentee rate increased by 3 percentage points to 14.7%, so students should check their final ranking based on the number of test takers and consider their regular admission strategy accordingly."

Increased EBS Linkage Rate in Reading and Shorter Passages... Literature is Easy

In reading, passages included a humanities passage on 'Hegel's Aesthetics' (Nos. 4?9), a social passage on the 'Triffin Dilemma' (Nos. 10?13), and a technology passage on 'the principle of devices providing surrounding vehicle images to drivers' (Nos. 14?17).

Kim Yong-jin of Dongdae Girls' High School said, "The Korean language section utilized materials from all necessary areas evenly, and the EBS linkage rate was about 50%," adding, "The integrated theme reading questions using Hegel's dialectics in questions 4?9 were difficult for students due to the subject matter itself, and question 7 was relatively difficult."

Teacher Kim analyzed, "The part that students find most difficult in Korean reading is the science area, but this year, questions appeared in the technology area instead of science," adding, "Questions 10?13 featured an economic passage on exchange rates, which students find somewhat difficult, and since it required precise understanding of the passages and inference of various information, it was a challenging question."

In literature, questions were based on modern poetry and classical essays such as Yi Yuk-sa's 'Choga,' Kim Gwan-sik's 'Geosanho 2,' and Lee Ok's 'Damcho (談艸)' (Nos. 18?23), modern novel passages such as Yoon Heung-gil's 'A Very Handsome Umbrella' (Nos. 24?27), classical novel passages such as the anonymous 'Bak Taebojeon' (Nos. 28?31), and classical poetry passages such as Jeong Hoon's 'Tankungga' and Wi Baek-gyu's 'Nongga' (Nos. 32?34), utilizing both classical and modern works.

Yoon Sang-hyung of Yeongdong High School said, "Compared to reading, the difficulty was relatively easy, and the characteristics and difficulty of the literary works were at an easy level. It likely was not very difficult for students," adding, "Three of the seven works were linked to EBS textbooks, and two works felt directly linked."

Teacher Yoon said, "Although four works were not linked, including some unfamiliar ones, the difficulty of the works was not high. To help understand the unlinked works, the choices provided for each question aided comprehension," adding, "The question types maintained the existing format, but the problem-solving process required relatively high concentration."