This Year's CSAT on November 18... "75% Weight on Common Subjects Korean and Math" (Comprehensive)

EBS Linkage Ratio Reduced from 70% to 50%
Korean and Math Common + Elective Subjects Without Liberal Arts and Science Division
"Common Subjects 75%, Elective Subjects Adjusted by Position"
Students Must Choose Electives Desired by Their Intended Major
No Emergency Measures or Difficulty Adjustments Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) will be held on November 18. This year, the range of elective subjects in Korean, Mathematics, and Inquiry areas has expanded without distinguishing between humanities and natural sciences tracks. The EBS linkage ratio will be reduced to 50%.

On the 16th, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced the basic plan for the 2022 CSAT. Last year, the CSAT was postponed to December, but this year it will be conducted as originally planned. A key feature of this year’s CSAT is the expanded range of elective subjects, moving away from the division between humanities and natural sciences tracks. Until last year, there were no elective subjects in Korean, and Mathematics was divided into type A and B according to the track, but from this year, it will change to a mixed format of common and elective subjects.

Korean and Mathematics 'Common + Elective Subjects'... "Common Subjects Account for 75%"

In Korean, 'Reading and Literature' are common subjects, and students can choose one from the elective subjects (Speech and Writing, Language and Media). In Mathematics, 'Mathematics I and Mathematics II' are common, and students select one from Probability and Statistics, Calculus, or Geometry to take the exam.

For inquiry subjects, students can choose two subjects from 17 options without distinction between social and science tracks. In the vocational inquiry area, students select two subjects from six options, taking the common subject 'Successful Vocational Life' and one elective subject from five track-specific options. Even with the increase in elective subjects, students must choose subjects required by the universities, departments, or majors they intend to enter.

There are concerns that the 'selective CSAT,' which does not distinguish subjects by humanities or natural sciences tracks and administers a common exam, may disadvantage humanities students. In Mathematics, score disparities may be large depending on ability, raising worries that natural sciences students will relatively secure higher grades.

Kang Taejung, President of the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, explained, "The purpose of the 2015 revised curriculum itself is to move away from the traditional division between humanities and natural sciences, and the common parts of Korean and Mathematics account for 75%. I believe that the results from the common subjects will be a very important criterion to offset differences in elective subjects."

Kim Dongyoung, Head of the CSAT Headquarters, added, "Common subjects account for 75%, and the system is technically designed to show where all students stand even if they take specific elective subjects. Students will choose subjects according to their university, aptitude, and career aspirations, and if competition occurs in the selection process, it is difficult to say there is a particular advantage or disadvantage."

EBS Ratio Reduced to 50%... English Passages Not Directly Used

This year, the linkage ratio of EBS lectures and textbooks to the CSAT questions will be reduced from 70% to 50%. Depending on the subject characteristics, indirect linkage will be applied, and especially in the English section, all linked questions will be presented in an indirect linkage format. This decision was made to prevent the negative practice of memorizing passages or their translations.

President Kang explained, "Indirect linkage means that passages from textbooks and lectures are not directly used in the CSAT. The linkage method for subjects other than English will not change. For English, there were undesirable preparation patterns such as memorizing passages or their translated content."

Korean History is a mandatory subject, and separate answer sheets are provided for Korean History and the Inquiry area. Korean, Mathematics, and Inquiry subjects are graded on a relative evaluation basis, while English, Korean History, Classical Chinese, and Second Foreign Languages are graded on an absolute evaluation basis. From this year, Classical Chinese and Second Foreign Languages, which adopt absolute evaluation, will have grades divided at 5-point intervals.

For subjects graded on a relative basis?Korean, Mathematics, and Inquiry?the report card will show the standard score, percentile, and grade for each subject. For English, Korean History, and Second Foreign Languages, only the grade will be shown. If a student does not take the Korean History section, the entire exam will be invalidated, and no score report will be issued.

The Institute plans to upload CSAT guidance materials on its CSAT website by the end of this month and distribute booklets to high schools nationwide. For disabled examinees, braille question papers will be provided to visually impaired students who request them, along with computers equipped with screen reading programs and corresponding question files or audio tapes. Braille information terminals that support calculation functions will be provided for the Mathematics section in the second period.

No Difficulty Adjustment Reflecting COVID-19... Quarantine Measures to Be Announced in July

The Institute stated that although remote classes were conducted due to COVID-19 and in-person classes were not smoothly held, it is difficult to adjust the difficulty level considering these factors.

President Kang said, "It is difficult to precisely assess the impact of COVID-19 on students' learning, so reflecting it in the CSAT difficulty is challenging. Considering the CSAT, maintaining the current difficulty and question-setting trends to ensure stability is more realistic for students and their families."

The Ministry of Education and the Institute are preparing emergency measures for the worst-case scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic. They plan to proceed with the CSAT schedule as planned but will announce detailed quarantine measures, including for confirmed cases and self-quarantined individuals, in July.

President Kang explained, "The government, including the Ministry of Education, is preparing Plan B and will coordinate across government agencies. CSAT question setters have been instructed to strictly prepare from before their training camp to prevent any risk of infection spread."

Cho Hoonhee, Director of the Ministry of Education’s University Admission Policy Division, said, "No matter what situation arises, the government and the Institute will make every effort to ensure that all students can safely and fairly take this year’s scheduled exam by implementing special quarantine measures. We will refine the quarantine measures and responses for self-quarantined and confirmed cases based on last year’s experience."

The June mock exam will be held on June 3, and the September mock exam on September 1. CSAT applications will be accepted from August 19 to September 3 at the high school currently attending, the high school graduated from, or locations designated by the local education superintendent. After the CSAT, there will be a period for objections, with final answers confirmed on November 29 and scores notified on December 10.

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