Excluding Killer Questions, 'September Mock Test' Harder
EBS: "Not Exactly Very Easy Difficulty"
Jongno Academy: "Somewhat Easier Than Last Year's CSAT"
The Korean language section of the June mock test for the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was analyzed by EBS and the admissions industry to be somewhat easier than last year's 'bul-sunung' (extremely difficult CSAT). However, it was also evaluated to be somewhat more difficult than the September mock test last year, which applied the 'killer question exclusion policy.' The commonly cited high-difficulty discriminative question was question 16 (Reading, Humanities).
At 10 a.m. on the 4th, the first session Korean language exam of the 2025 CSAT June mock test, hosted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, concluded. On the same day, the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) provided an analysis of the test trends, including difficulty by session, together with its affiliated teachers.
EBS analyzed that the Korean language section was easier than last year's CSAT. Choi Seo-hee, a teacher at Jungdong High School, said, "It appears to have been somewhat easier than the 2024 CSAT," adding, "In the common subjects of reading and literature, so-called 'killer questions' (ultra-high difficulty questions) were excluded, and questions were designed based on the core content or concepts of the curriculum, practically linked to EBS CSAT-related textbooks, resulting in high discrimination within public education."
However, she diagnosed that it is difficult to say the overall level was easy. In particular, it was analyzed that the perceived difficulty was higher compared to the September mock test last year. Teacher Choi said, "Of course, it is hard to say the questions were very easy," adding, "There were some somewhat abstract logic passages." She also pointed out question 16 (Reading, Humanities) and question 27 (Literature, Modern Novel) as highly discriminative questions.
EBS explained that there were a total of 23 linked questions, with a linkage rate of 51.1%. EBS stated, "The linkage was centered on the reading and literature areas, so it is expected that test takers felt a high sense of linkage."
Most academies evaluated the difficulty as lower than last year's CSAT. Jongno Academy explained in a press release on the day, "It was somewhat easier than last year's difficult CSAT," adding, "In the common subjects, balanced discrimination was secured without bias toward specific areas of literature and reading." Nam Yoon-gon, head of the admissions strategy research institute at Megastudy, also said, "The Korean language section was slightly easier than last year's CSAT, but there were highly discriminative questions in integrated reading theme passages and language in language and media, which may have caused some confusion. However, literature and speech and writing were relatively straightforward compared to previous years."
Both EBS and the admissions industry pointed to question 16, which dealt with 'moral sentences,' as a question where students likely felt a high level of difficulty. Kim Won-jung, head of the admissions strategy office at Daesung Academy, added, "The concepts and various perspectives in the passage were complicated, and it seems that determining the true or false for questions 15 and 16 was not easy."
Since last year's CSAT was an unprecedented 'bul-sunung,' it was analyzed that the discrimination among top-tier students would be relatively weakened. Jongno Academy said, "In last year's CSAT, the difference between the highest and lowest standard scores within the top grade 1 range was as much as 17 points, indicating high discrimination among top students," adding, "Last June's mock test had a 6-point difference between the highest and lowest scores within grade 1, so today's Korean language section was more difficult than that."
Daesung Academy advised, "The presented passages are expected to maintain a moderate level as now, but some questions feature attractive incorrect answer choices, increasing the proportion of medium to high difficulty questions. It is necessary to thoroughly study the concepts posted in the EBS linked textbooks and closely understand the linked works and authors in literature to develop quick reading comprehension and problem-solving skills."
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