How Will the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test Be Designed?
A New Approach Applying In-Depth Questions
Possibility of Adding 'High-Difficulty Items' in Mathematics
The September mock exam conducted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) on the 6th, in preparation for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), was held. Under the application of the 'killer question exclusion' policy, new methods to increase difficulty were introduced in Korean and English, leading to analyses suggesting that this CSAT, initially feared to be an 'easy test,' may still maintain a certain level of discrimination. Admissions experts advised that in-depth training on the newly introduced question application methods in the September mock exam is necessary.
The September mock exam is the first and last mock test to apply the principle of excluding killer questions. Experts analyze that despite not including killer questions, a considerable level of discrimination was secured. According to this analysis, the actual CSAT may feature numerous so-called 'quasi-killer questions' or increased difficulty in answer choices and solving methods.
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, stated, "(Although) passages from EBS appeared in the September mock exam, it was not easy," and analyzed, "In fact, the correct answer rate is expected to be lower than in the June mock exam." He added, "From the test-takers' perspective, the exclusion of killer questions does not necessarily lead to better results in finding the correct answers. Previously, the passages themselves were difficult, but this time, the complexity arises in the process of connecting the passage to the questions, which has replaced killer questions."
Unlike Korean and English, which had discrimination, mathematics was set relatively easily, leading experts to commonly agree that the difficulty level may increase in the actual CSAT. High-difficulty questions are necessary to distinguish top-tier students.
Nam Yoon-gon, head of the MegaStudy Admissions Strategy Research Institute, advised, "If the actual CSAT math is set like the September mock exam, there will be too many perfect scorers in math," and added, "Therefore, prepare for higher difficulty questions in the CSAT."
Lee Man-gi, director of the Uway Admissions Strategy Evaluation Institute, also predicted, "This CSAT will generally maintain the pattern of the September mock exam," and forecasted, "If the evaluation institute judges math to be too easy, there is a possibility of introducing quasi-killer questions."
Since the question pattern of the September mock exam changed significantly, there is also analysis that the perceived difficulty of the actual CSAT will not be low. Kim Byung-jin, director of the Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute, said, "(The September mock exam) was perceived as a relatively difficult test due to the rising trend of EBS linkage rate in Korean, literary adaptation, unfamiliar question arrangements in math, and the difficulty of English answer choices," and added, "The actual CSAT will require in-depth learning as it may involve not only simple borrowing of materials or concepts but also expansion or reduction of problems and utilization of answer choices."
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