Mixed Reactions to June Mock Exam Math Difficulty: "Many Challenging Questions"

In the June mock test of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) held on the 1st, reactions from the admissions industry were divided over the difficulty level of the mathematics section. While the general analysis was that the questions were similar to or slightly easier than last year's CSAT, there was also an opinion that the unfamiliar types of questions increased the perceived difficulty.

Etus Education Evaluation Research Institute analyzed that the difficulty level of the mathematics section was generally moderate, and there was not much difference in difficulty between subjects.

On the morning of June 1st, when the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock exam was conducted, students at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, were solving workbooks in the classroom while waiting for the exam to start. Photo by Joint Press Corps

For the common mathematics subject, question number 22 was somewhat challenging. Similar to last year's CSAT, question 22 was based on the average rate of change in the differentiation unit as a conditional expression. Since students needed to infer the meaning of the conditional expression, those who lacked practice interpreting unfamiliar expressions were expected to find it somewhat difficult.

The elective subject Probability and Statistics was evaluated to have questions of similar difficulty and type as last year's CSAT. The difficulty of the quasi-killer and killer questions was comparable to the CSAT, and questions requiring lengthy prompts, situational analysis, and multiple steps of calculation were presented, so the perceived difficulty for students was expected to be high.

Calculus was analyzed to be somewhat easier than last year's CSAT. Among the eight questions, six were from the differentiation unit, and two were from the limits of sequences unit, with a greater emphasis on the differentiation unit. No questions with given diagrams were included.

Geometry was also analyzed to be easier than last year's CSAT. Question 28 asked whether students could interpret the equation of a figure expressed by the inner product of vectors, question 29 was straightforward if one knew the definition of a hyperbola, and question 30 was a mixed question involving concepts from conic sections and plane vectors, which could be solved by recalling the use of tangents to an ellipse.

Kim Byung-jin, head of the Etus Education Evaluation Research Institute, explained, “The difficulty of the elective subjects in the mathematics section of this June mock test was moderate, and there was not much difference in difficulty between subjects. However, in the common subject, the questions were arranged differently from the familiar patterns seen in previous tests, and unfamiliar expressions appeared, which likely caused some confusion among students.”

On the other hand, the Megastudy Education Admissions Strategy Research Institute analyzed that since the questions themselves were not easy, students might find them difficult, and there was a difference in difficulty between elective subjects.

Nam Yoon-gon, head of the Megastudy Education Admissions Strategy Research Institute, said, “For the common subject, compared to the existing CSAT, the difficulty of Mathematics II was slightly lower, while Mathematics I was more challenging, increasing the relative importance of Mathematics I. Regarding elective subjects, geometry questions were moderately easy, while calculus questions were relatively difficult, indicating a difference in difficulty between elective subjects.”