Highest Standard Score in Korean 129 Points
Math 136 Points... "Discrimination Issue"
Ministry of Education "Sufficient for Differentiating Top Ranks"
The September mock test for the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), conducted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, was found to be easy across all major subjects. Some have even evaluated it as lacking in discrimination power.
According to the "2025 CSAT September Mock Test Scoring Results" released on the 1st by the Ministry of Education and the Evaluation Institute, the highest standard scores for Korean, English, and Mathematics were relatively low, indicating a low level of difficulty.
The highest standard score (perfect score) for the first session, Korean, was 129 points, the lowest since the September 2022 mock test (127 points). The cutoff score for grade 1 was 126 points, the same as the 2023 CSAT.
On the 4th, examinees were preparing for the 'September Mock Test for the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test' held at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
In the second session, Mathematics had a highest standard score of 136 points and a grade 1 cutoff score of 130 points. Typically, the top 4% receive grade 1, but in this test, up to 7.07% were awarded grade 1, indicating the test was considerably easy.
The English section, graded on an absolute scale, had 10.94% of test takers scoring 90 points or above, qualifying for grade 1. This is ten times higher than the 1.47% in the June mock test, which was considered a "difficult test," suggesting a significant difference in perceived difficulty among students. The percentage of grade 1 scorers in the English section was 4.71% in the 2024 CSAT and 7.83% in the 2023 CSAT.
Notably, there were 63 perfect scorers across all subjects in this September mock test, more than ten times the 6 perfect scorers in the June mock test. Among the perfect scorers, 18 were current students and 45 were graduates.
Jongno Academy commented, "The highest standard scores in Korean and Mathematics are similar to or exceed the number of medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year," adding, "The test was designed at a level that causes significant problems in discriminating among top-tier students."
However, the Ministry of Education maintains that the test had sufficient discrimination power. A ministry official explained, "The September mock test was generally easy and students’ preparation improved, so some students achieved better results compared to the June mock test," and added, "We believe there were enough questions capable of distinguishing top-tier students."
The number of examinees for this September mock test was 386,652, including 295,071 current students and 91,581 graduates and those who passed the qualification exam. Individual score reports are scheduled to be distributed on the 2nd.
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