Reduced Math Discrimination Due to Exclusion of Killer Questions
Korean and English Become More Difficult
"English Section Expected to Be Easier"
In the September mock CSAT conducted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, the number of perfect scorers in the Korean language section and those who achieved the highest grade in the English section decreased compared to last year's College Scholastic Ability Test and the June mock exam this year, while the number of perfect scorers in the mathematics section significantly increased. In response, the admissions industry analyzed that the difficulty of Korean and English was so high that the purpose of 'excluding killer questions' was undermined, whereas mathematics was too easy, suggesting that difficulty adjustments for some subjects are necessary for the actual CSAT.
According to the scoring results of the September mock exam released by the institute on the 4th, 374,907 students took the 2024 academic year CSAT September mock exam held on the 6th of last month. Among them, 284,526 were current students, and 90,381 were graduates and those who passed the qualification exam.
On the 6th, students are preparing for the exam at Bangsan High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where the September mock test for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test was held. Photo by Joint Press Corps
According to data analyzed by Jongno Academy on that day, the Korean and English sections were difficult in this September mock exam, resulting in fewer perfect scorers. The number of perfect scorers in the Korean section (highest standard score) was 135, less than one-tenth of the 1,492 in the June mock exam. It was also fewer than the 371 perfect scorers in last year's CSAT Korean section.
In the English section, which is graded on an absolute scale, the number of students who achieved the highest grade was 16,341, nearly half of the 29,042 in the June mock exam. This is also less than half of the 34,830 highest-grade scorers in last year's CSAT. It is the lowest number since the introduction of the absolute grading system for English in the 2018 academic year.
However, this may contradict the government's policy intention to reduce reliance on private education by excluding killer questions. Political circles and civic groups have protested that killer questions beyond the curriculum scope and level were included in the September mock exam. If the new educational policy is reflected and the questions become excessively difficult, it could increase confusion among examinees.
On the other hand, in the mathematics section, the number of perfect scorers surged, leading to evaluations that the discriminative power decreased. The number of perfect scorers was 2,520, more than three times the 648 in the June mock exam this year. It also significantly increased compared to the 934 perfect scorers in last year's CSAT mathematics section. The highest standard score was 144 points, the lowest among the institute's exams since the integrated CSAT was introduced, and the score difference within the highest grade range was 9 points, also the lowest. Jongno Academy stated, "The discriminative power among top scorers in mathematics has decreased the most since the integrated CSAT," and added, "Since there are quite a few perfect scorers, it will be difficult to make the actual CSAT easier than this."
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, "Killer questions were excluded for the time being, but the discriminative power of mathematics dropped sharply," adding, "Meanwhile, Korean and English became more difficult, making it harder for examinees to find direction." He further stated, "The Korean and mathematics sections of the actual CSAT are expected to be at the level of the September mock exam, while English is expected to be somewhat easier than the mock exam."
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