Strategy Must Be Planned After Preliminary Scoring... Beware of Grade Cutoff Errors Depending on Absence Rate

Final Answers Announced on the 14th
Scores Notified on the 23rd

University-Specific Exams Including Essays Begin Tomorrow

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee, Trainee Reporter Seungseop Song] This year's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) maintained the usual question-setting trend despite the variable of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is because no anomalies occurred in the academic gap between current students and graduates or in the score distribution among current students in the two nationwide mock exams held this year. Although the nationwide education superintendents demanded lowering the CSAT difficulty level to accommodate high school seniors, the government expressed reluctance, and it is interpreted that the government's intention was reflected in the actual question-setting trend. It seems that the education superintendents' opinion that killer questions (high-difficulty questions) should be reduced unless there is artificial difficulty adjustment was accepted.

Min Chan-hong, chair of the CSAT question committee and professor at Hanyang University, stated, "We measured the academic ability required by universities while faithfully reflecting the current curriculum," and added, "Questions were set focusing on the core and basic content of the curriculum to help normalize high school education." Regarding the direction of questions by subject, he said, "For the Korean language section, efforts were made to minimize advantages or disadvantages among test-takers, and for mathematics, questions were set to evaluate the ability to understand the application of basic mathematical concepts and principles within the curriculum scope, calculation skills, and reasoning ability," adding, "We tried to avoid excessively difficult questions."

For the English section, which is graded on an absolute scale, he explained, "Questions were set to evaluate basic listening comprehension and active reading skills within the vocabulary defined by the curriculum." In the case of Korean history, questions were set simply according to the basic purpose of evaluating fundamental knowledge of Korean history, focusing on core and important content. The EBS linkage rate was 73.3% for English, 71.1% for Korean, and 70% for all other subjects.

On the morning of the 3rd, when the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, examinees at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul, were heading to the exam rooms after undergoing temperature checks.

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), this year's exam was postponed by two weeks and was simultaneously conducted at 1,383 exam sites across 86 test districts nationwide, with a record low of 493,433 candidates participating. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Objections to questions and answers can be submitted from the end of the CSAT until 6 p.m. on the 7th. The final answers will be announced on the 14th, and scores will be notified on the 23rd. Before receiving their score reports, test-takers should assess their standing through provisional scoring and reestablish their college admission strategies. For the regular admission, applicants can apply three times in total, once each in groups A, B, and C.

Admission experts advise that students should analyze the grade cutoffs or expected raw scores for each section to determine whether they meet the minimum CSAT requirements for early admission and which universities they can apply to for regular admission. However, if the absence rate is high due to COVID-19, there may be discrepancies from the actual grade cutoffs. Lee Manki, director of the Uway Education Evaluation Research Institute, said, "Even if the total score is sufficient for regular admission, if the CSAT scores are low in sections with high weight at the university, the chances of acceptance may decrease," and advised, "When reviewing universities available for regular admission, it is essential to compare using university-specific scores." This year, while the number of CSAT test-takers decreased, the number of university admissions slightly increased, so the competition rate and acceptance cutoff scores at most universities are likely to decline.

University-specific exams begin the day after the CSAT. Most schedules are concentrated on the weekends of the 5th-6th and 12th-13th. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy Haneul Education, said, "One option is to decide to forgo early admission essay or interview exams at universities where the scores are lower than those for universities available for regular admission."

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