[2023 CSAT] College Admission Counseling Teachers Group: "Korean Language Easier Than Last Year and Similar to September Mock Test"

Highest Standard Score Last Year CSAT 149 Points, September Mock Test 140 Points
"Top-tier Discrimination Expected to Be Lower Than Last Year's CSAT"

On the 9th, the date of the June mock exam for the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test, instructors including Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, are analyzing the Korean language section questions at the Jongro Academy Gangbuk Headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Korean language section was easier than last year's exam and similar in difficulty to the September mock test. It is analyzed that the differentiation among top-tier students will be low.

On the 17th, Kim Yongjin, a teacher at Dongdae 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, said, "The difficulty level is similar to the September mock test. Compared to the relatively difficult 2022 CSAT, it was slightly easier," adding, "The EBS linkage rate is over 50% based on the number of questions."

With the test being easier than last year, there is also an analysis that the differentiation among top-tier examinees will be minimal. Kim Changmook, a teacher at Kyungshin High School, explained, "The difficulty for the top-tier will decrease somewhat compared to previous years, but the differentiation among mid-to-high-level students will be similar to previous years."

The differentiation is gauged by the difference between the highest standard score and the cutoff score for grade 1. This year’s Korean language section is expected to have a smaller score gap than last year.

Last year, the highest standard score in the CSAT Korean language section was 149 points, and the grade 1 cutoff was 132 points, a 17-point difference. The highest score in the September mock test this year was 140 points, with a grade 1 cutoff at 129 points.

Teacher Kim Changmook analyzed, "Although this is based on some teachers’ analysis of the question trends, the distribution of standard scores is expected to decrease somewhat compared to last year’s CSAT and be almost similar to the September mock test."

Kim advised, "While it is difficult to say that the overall difficulty of the passages in the Korean language section has decreased or that the questions have become easier, the differentiation among top-tier students has declined, which may increase the relative importance of other sections. Since the ratios of Korean, Math, English, and Inquiry sections are applied in various ways in the regular admission, top-tier students need to carefully review their application strategies compared to previous years."

The killer questions were identified as questions 12 and 17 in the reading section. Question 12 asked about sales contracts and penalty payments, while question 17 was based on Kleiber’s basal metabolic rate research.

Kim Yongjin said, "This exam reflected the recent trends in Korean language section questions. Although the passages were slightly shorter than in the past, they contained a lot of information and required students to infer through the questions. The social science and science passages were linked to EBS textbooks, so students who thoroughly studied the textbooks could solve them well. Questions 12 and 17 were high-difficulty questions but were easier compared to the hardest questions in last year’s and the year before last’s CSAT."

In the literature section, works such as Choe Cheokjeon and Dosan Sibigok were included, and modern novels like Sseureojineun Bit (Falling Light), Eumjiui Kkot (Flower in the Shade), and Jisujeongga appeared as passages.

Jin Suhwan, a teacher at Gangneung Myeongryun High School, explained, "Overall, the existing major framework was maintained, and many question types that students had practiced at school appeared, so there was not much difficulty in solving the problems. Dosan Sibigok and Choe Cheokjeon were EBS-linked passages, and although Jisujeongga and Sseureojineun Bit were less familiar, their interpretation was not difficult, and there were many grounds to help with appreciation."

The CSAT Korean language section was administered as an integrated humanities and science type with a common + elective subject structure. In the common subjects, there were 17 questions each for reading and literature, and among the elective subjects, 11 questions each for Speech and Writing, and Language and Media were included.