First College Entrance Exam Aiming for 'Integration of Humanities and Sciences'... Thoroughly Check the Scope of Questions by Subject Area

2021 College Entrance Exam Changes
Slight Adjustments in CSAT Korean and Math Sections
Regular Admissions Increase by Only 0.3%p... Slight Rise in Student Record-Based Selection

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Students preparing to take the college entrance exam this year, who are prospective high school seniors, may feel more anxious than ever. The planned revision of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in 2017 was postponed by a year, and the college admission system reform plan for 2018 was barely established. However, the admission systems from 2021 to 2023 have each changed differently due to the 2019 measures to strengthen fairness in college admissions. In particular, the 2021 admission, which has a strong 'transitional' nature, has seen subtle changes in the overall selection ratio after the government announced last year a reform plan to expand regular admissions and eliminate extracurricular activities from the student record comprehensive screening (Hakjong). Starting with the 2021 CSAT, the 2015 revised curriculum will be introduced for the first time, changing the scope of questions by subject area. It is also the year when high school information used in all admission materials will be blinded.

◆Regular admissions slightly expanded, but early admissions remain priority= Experts believe that prospective high school seniors do not need to worry much about the expansion of regular admissions. This is because the proportion of regular admissions in 2021 is 23.0%, only 0.3 percentage points higher than last year's 22.7%.

That said, it is not entirely irrelevant. Major universities tend to increase the proportion of regular admissions starting from 2021 to meet the 30% regular admission target for 2022. Among the 11 major universities in Seoul, nine universities?Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Sogang University, Seoul National University, University of Seoul, Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, Chung-Ang University, and Hanyang University?have increased their regular admission quotas, excluding Sungkyunkwan University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

The overall proportion of early admissions has decreased by 0.3 percentage points due to the increase in regular admissions but still remains high at 77.0%. The selection ratio for student record-based screening has slightly increased, though it remains small. The selection ratio for student record curriculum screening and comprehensive screening was 67.1% (233,230 students) in 2020 but rose to 67.3% (233,701 students) in 2021.

In particular, the number of comprehensive screening admissions within the quota at the 11 Seoul universities is 15,756, accounting for 44.5% of the total admission quota (35,396). Korea University, University of Seoul, Ewha Womans University, Chung-Ang University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Hanyang University also conduct student record curriculum screening.

The number of students admitted through essay screening has decreased at most universities. The total number of students admitted through this method at 31 universities dropped from 12,146 last year to 11,162 this year, a decrease of 984. Among them, Yonsei University (Mirae Campus) and Korea University of Technology and Education have increased their quotas by 70 and 118 students, respectively. The aptitude test, which will be held for the last time in 2021 early admissions, will be conducted at 11 universities including Gachon University, Samyook University, and Hansung University, selecting 4,485 students.

◆CSAT with changed test scope= The 2021 CSAT will apply the 2015 revised curriculum for the first time, aiming for 'integration of humanities and sciences.' Accordingly, the existing Korean language section's 'Reading and Grammar' subject is split into 'Reading' and 'Language and Media,' with only 'Language' within 'Language and Media' included in the test scope. Due to the 2015 revised curriculum moving 'Geometry and Vectors' to elective subjects, it is excluded from the test scope of Mathematics Type A, while 'Mathematics I' is newly included in Mathematics Type B. The test scopes for English, social studies, science studies, vocational studies, and second foreign language/Chinese characters remain the same as in previous CSATs. However, in the social studies section, the subject name 'Law and Politics' has been changed to 'Politics and Law.'

Ultimately, since this is a subtle change where not everything is changed according to the 2015 revised curriculum nor is the existing CSAT system fully maintained, examinees must clearly understand the actual changes and prepare accordingly. Past CSAT and mock exam questions should also be used for study with these changes in mind.

◆Effectiveness of blind evaluation in college admissions?= Most of the 'Measures to Strengthen Fairness in College Admissions' announced on November 28 last year will be applied from the 2022 academic year, but the 'blind evaluation' will be implemented starting this year. This is a measure to ensure fairness and transparency in college admissions by blocking the halo effect of the applicant's high school background, making it impossible to know the applicant's high school information throughout the entire admission process. The high school profile previously provided by high schools to universities will also be completely abolished, fundamentally preventing the reflection of high school information in evaluations.

However, experts say it is difficult to guarantee the effectiveness of blind evaluation at present because even by looking at the subjects taken or the names of experiential activity programs in the school records, one can guess the type of high school attended. Lee Manki, director of Uway Education Evaluation Research Institute, pointed out, "By looking at foreign language-related subjects for foreign language high schools or advanced science subjects for science high schools and gifted schools, it is easy to infer the type of high school. Since the methodological details have not yet been disclosed, it is necessary to observe how this unfolds, but there is a high possibility that graduates from prestigious autonomous private high schools or special-purpose high schools may stand out contrary to the Ministry of Education's intentions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.