1.24 Million Students from 1,940 High Schools Nationwide Take the Test
Number of Third-Year Students Increases by 47,000 Due to the 'Golden Pig Year'
Enhancing CSAT Adaptability Amid Unconfirmed Medical School Quotas and Rising N-su Students
Attention on Whether the 'Satam-run' Phenomenon Will Continue
On the 26th, 1.24 million students from grades 10 to 12 at 1,940 high schools nationwide will take this year's first academic achievement evaluation.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that the 2025 nationwide joint academic achievement evaluation will be conducted in March to enhance students' adaptability to the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and to support career guidance and self-directed learning.
On the 11th, when the July National Joint Academic Achievement Test for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) preparation was conducted, examinees were preparing for the exam at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, this academic achievement evaluation will begin at 8:40 a.m. By grade, approximately 400,000 first-year students, 410,000 second-year students, and 430,000 third-year students will participate. In Seoul, 220,000 students from 292 schools will take the test.
For first-year high school students, the test questions will be based on the middle school curriculum, reflecting the timing of the test in March.
Second- and third-year students will select and take up to two subjects in the inquiry area regardless of their academic track. However, unlike second-year students, third-year students will take the Korean language and mathematics sections in a 'common subject + elective subject' format, and, as with the CSAT, must take Korean history.
In particular, since this is the first academic achievement evaluation for third-year students ahead of the CSAT, it is meaningful as it allows checking their adaptability to the integrated CSAT. This year, the number of third-year students has increased by about 47,000 compared to last year due to the 'Golden Pig Year' effect, intensifying the competition for college entrance.
Additionally, there is analysis that predicting admissions has become difficult because the medical school admission quota has not been finalized. Last year, the medical school quota increased from 3,058 to 5,058 students, but the Ministry of Education and universities have stated that if medical students return by the end of this month, they will select 3,058 students again this year, the pre-increase level. Therefore, the quota size is expected to be finalized depending on whether medical students return.
From the 2028 academic year, the integrated CSAT will be administered, so there is also concern that the number of repeat test-takers ('N-su students') may surge this year and next year.
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, pointed out, "This year’s examinees face extremely difficult admission predictions due to the readjustment of medical school admission quotas, the increase in third-year students, the second year of the non-major selection system which caused a large number of additional admissions last year, the third year of excluding killer questions, and being the final year before the integrated CSAT."
Meanwhile, changes in the number of test-takers between the social inquiry (Satam) and science inquiry (Gwatam) areas in this exam are drawing attention. If the number of Satam test-takers increases compared to last year, there is a high possibility that more science-track students will switch from Gwatam to Satam, a phenomenon known as 'Satam-run,' than last year. CEO Lim said, "Given the current situation, middle- and lower-tier science-track students may switch to Satam more than last year."
The score reports for this March academic achievement evaluation can be printed at the schools where students took the test from April 14 to 28. English, Korean history, and first-year inquiry subjects are graded on an absolute scale, showing raw scores and grades only, while other subjects will have standard scores, percentiles, and grades.
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