[2025 CSAT] Exam Chair "Excluding Killer Questions... Creating Questions Based on Analysis of June and September Mock Test Takers"

Briefing on CSAT Question Direction
Analysis of June and September Mock Exam Takers
"Questions Based on Basic Curriculum Content"
"Semi-Killer Questions Likely Filtered Out"

The 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) excluded so-called 'killer questions' (ultra-high difficulty questions) and featured a balanced distribution of questions with appropriate difficulty levels, the CSAT test committee chair announced on the 14th. This was the result of a thorough analysis of the test-taking groups and characteristics from the June and September mock exams, and the test administration explained that even quasi-killer questions were likely filtered out.

Choi Jung-chul, chair of the CSAT test committee and professor of chemistry at Dongguk University, held a briefing on the CSAT test direction at the Government Sejong Complex that morning. In response to a question about which of the two recent mock exams was used as the standard for setting difficulty, he stated, "We ensured that differentiation could be secured using only content covered in the public education curriculum."

Yonhap News

Earlier, the June and September mock exams held this year showed contrasting difficulty levels, leading to evaluations that the difficulty of this year's CSAT could not be predicted. Especially as this is the second CSAT applying the 'killer question exclusion policy,' students lack sufficient sample tests to prepare for the exam. Chair Choi added, "If students complete their school education faithfully, they can solve the problems without private tutoring."

This year's CSAT began at 8:40 a.m. and ended at 5:45 p.m. across 85 test districts and 1,282 test centers nationwide. The number of test takers is 522,670, an increase of 18,082 from last year. The number of repeat test takers (graduates and above, excluding GED holders) is 161,784, the largest scale in 21 years since the 2004 CSAT. This year, the number of admissions in 32 medical schools increased, and with the killer question exclusion policy applied, a large number of top-tier repeat test takers are believed to have joined.

Regarding the overall test direction, Chair Choi stated, "We focused on core and basic content from the curriculum to help normalize high school education." He also said, "We aimed to design questions that measure understanding and application of basic concepts necessary for university education, as well as the ability to solve problems, reason, analyze, and explore through given situations."

He emphasized that, as in last year, the killer question exclusion policy was reflected to ensure differentiation using only content covered in the public education curriculum, with a balanced distribution of questions at appropriate difficulty levels. When asked if there were any 'quasi-killer questions' (high-difficulty questions) instead of killer questions, he replied, "We tried to completely exclude killer questions this year. Since the questions were fully verified by the independently organized CSAT Test Review Committee, I believe quasi-killer questions were also sufficiently filtered out."

The EBS (Korea Educational Broadcasting System) question linkage rate was about 50%, enhancing the sense of connection. Chair Choi said, "This time, we tried to use graphs or data directly as much as possible so that students could recognize the problems as 'something they had solved on EBS' when they saw them."

The issue of advantages and disadvantages in elective subjects continues in the fourth year of the integrated CSAT. Moreover, this year’s college admissions saw a relaxation in CSAT elective subject restrictions, leading to a decrease in science inquiry subject test takers and an increase in social inquiry test takers, a phenomenon dubbed 'Satam-run' (social inquiry + run). Regarding this, Chair Choi said, "We made great efforts to maintain the CSAT’s nine-grade system this time by analyzing various data on the characteristics of the test-taking groups, such as subject preferences of repeat test takers and current students."