This Year's CSAT to Be Held on November 17... Mask Wearing Decision to Be Made Later

Application Submission from August 18 to September 2
Score Reports Scheduled for Distribution on December 9

On the 18th, the day of the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), examinees are heading to the examination hall at Yongsan High School in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] This year’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) will be held on November 17. Whether masks must be worn will be decided later depending on the infectious disease situation.

On the 3rd, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced the detailed implementation plan for the 2023 CSAT.

An official from the Ministry of Education stated, "Mask-wearing inside the CSAT test sites will be determined later according to quarantine guidelines, and additional guidance reflecting this will be provided."

This year, the test will again be conducted in an integrated format for humanities and sciences, with Korean and Mathematics sections structured as "common + elective subjects." For Korean, students must choose one subject from Speech and Writing or Language and Media, and for Mathematics, one subject from Probability and Statistics, Calculus, or Geometry. The test will consist of 75% common subjects and 25% elective subjects.

The linkage rate between EBS CSAT textbooks and lectures and the CSAT questions will remain at about 50%, as it was last year. The English section will be presented in an indirect linkage format, which means using passages with similar themes or topics to those in EBS textbooks but different texts.

For Social Studies and Science inquiry subjects, students can select up to two subjects from 17 options. The English section and Korean History will continue to be graded on an absolute evaluation basis. Korean History is a mandatory subject; failure to take it invalidates the entire CSAT application and no overall score will be provided. Answer sheets for Korean History and inquiry subjects will be provided separately. Second foreign languages and Chinese characters will also be graded absolutely.

The application period is from August 18 to September 2. The test fee depends on the number of chosen subjects: 37,000 KRW for up to 4 subjects, 42,000 KRW for 5 subjects, and 47,000 KRW for 6 subjects.

Score reports will be distributed to test takers by December 9. Currently enrolled students will receive them at their schools, while graduates and qualification exam candidates can collect them from the application centers. Score certificates can also be issued online. Online issuance is available from December 9 for graduates and qualification exam candidates, and from December 12 for enrolled students.

Black computer-use sign pens, mechanical pencils, and white correction tape will be provided at the test sites. Individuals may bring black computer-use sign pens, black pencils, white correction tape, erasers, and 0.5mm black mechanical pencil leads. Devices with communication or Bluetooth functions or electronic display screens (LCD, LED, etc.) are prohibited, and only analog watches with hour and minute hands are allowed.

The Institute stated, "We will prepare quarantine measures together with test management agencies and health authorities to minimize infection risks to test takers and local communities. We will support smooth test participation according to quarantine guidelines, and test takers must strictly follow the test site quarantine rules on the exam day."