[2022 CSAT] Exam Chair: "Adjust Difficulty of Elective Subjects, Make English Passages and Formats More Familiar"

This Year's First Integrated CSAT Question Trends
Focus on Minimizing Advantages and Disadvantages in Korean and Math Elective Subjects
"Adjusted to Keep Standard Score Maximum Differences Small"
English Indirectly Linked to EBS Starting This Year
"Aimed to Use Familiar Passages and Formats"

On the 18th, the day of the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test, examinees are entering the exam hall at Yeouido Girls' High School in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The biggest point of interest in this year's first implementation of the integrated Korean and science CSAT is the 'advantage and disadvantage by elective subjects.' The greater the difference in the highest standard scores by elective subjects, the more the advantages and disadvantages vary among examinees.

Wi Su-min, the 2022 CSAT test committee chair (professor at Korea National University of Education), said, "The difference in the highest standard scores is what is called the 'divine territory,' and the standard score varies not because of the difficulty of the chosen subject but according to the characteristics of the students," adding, "We designed and adjusted the questions so that the difference in the highest scores would not occur."

During the June and September mock exams, there was a large gap in difficulty between subjects. In the September mock exam, the highest standard score in the Korean language section was 127 points, relatively lower than June's 146 points, while the September mock exam was generally evaluated as having a difficult common mathematics subject.

The CSAT test committee maintained the test policy of the two mock exams but reset the appropriate difficulty and discrimination level by reflecting the mock exam results. They did not set a standard to make either the common or elective subjects particularly difficult. Chair Wi said, "In the curriculum system, common subjects take precedence over elective subjects," adding, "Common subjects account for 75% and include a variety of questions ranging from high-difficulty to very easy. Elective subjects also include discriminative questions, but we tried not to include particularly difficult high-level questions."

On the morning of the 18th, the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was simultaneously held at approximately 1,300 testing sites across 86 test districts nationwide. At the testing site of Ewha Girls' Foreign Language High School in Jung-gu, Seoul (Test District 15, Test Site 20), proctors are explaining important guidelines to the examinees entering the venue. 2021.11.18

With the integration of Korean and science, Korean and mathematics are structured as 'common + elective subjects.' In the Korean language section, 70.6% chose 'Speech and Writing' as their elective subject, and in mathematics, 'Probability and Statistics (53.2%)' was more popular. The EBS CSAT textbook and lecture linkage rate also decreased from the previous 70% to 50% based on the number of questions.

For the English section, from this year, the use of EBS lectures and textbooks changed to 'indirect linkage.' This change was made because students began studying English passages through translated versions. The test committee explained that considering the increase in students' perceived difficulty, "We tried to create questions that feel familiar to students in various aspects such as familiar questions, passages, and formats."

With the change to the integrated CSAT, it has become more difficult to estimate scores based on raw scores alone. Even if the raw scores for common and elective subjects are the same, the final standard score varies depending on the elective subject. Chair Wi said regarding the possibility of academic gaps caused by COVID-19, "Analysis of the two mock exams showed no significant differences in characteristics between current students and graduates compared to last year or previous years."

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation is accepting objections related to CSAT questions from today until 6 p.m. on the 21st. After the review, the correct answers will be finalized and announced at 5 p.m. on the 29th. CSAT scores will be announced on the 10th of next month. Early admission successful candidates will be announced from the 16th, and regular admission applications will be accepted from the 30th until January 3 of next year. Examinees must establish their regular admission application strategies based on their provisional scoring results before the score announcement.

Lee Young-deok, director of Daesung Academic Development Research Institute, said, "Based on the provisional scoring results, raw scores, and expected grades for each section, students should first consider which universities they can apply to," adding, "Most universities select students mainly based on CSAT scores in regular admissions, but colleges of education and some universities' medical schools conduct personality and aptitude interviews, so it is important to carefully check the reflection methods of each selection factor and establish application strategies accordingly."