The June Mock Exam 'English' Changed to EBS Indirect Linkage Was More Difficult Than Last Year's CSAT

No New Question Types, but Perceived Difficulty Increased Due to EBS Textbook 'Indirect Connection'
Higher Discrimination in Vocabulary, Fill-in-the-Blanks, and Theme Inference Questions

On the 3rd, the first mock evaluation of the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test, conducted under the integrated liberal arts and sciences system, took place at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where students are receiving their test papers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The difficulty level of the English section in the June mock exam increased compared to last year's CSAT. Although there were no new types of questions, the indirect linkage method with EBS textbooks was introduced, resulting in many unfamiliar passages for test-takers, according to analyses.

On the 3rd, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation explained the principles for setting questions in the English section of the 2022 CSAT June mock exam: "We used basic curriculum vocabulary and frequently used words at the test subject level, and included language form and vocabulary questions to measure balanced language skills emphasizing both fluency and accuracy in English."

The English section was composed of 17 listening questions and 28 reading questions without new question types. The number of questions by type and the arrangement of listening questions were generally similar to the 2021 CSAT. However, unlike last year’s CSAT, among the 7 main idea questions, 2 were worth 3 points, and both grammar and vocabulary questions were worth 2 points each.

Starting this year, the English section switched to an indirect linkage method using passages and topics similar to those in EBS textbooks but not directly from them. Admissions companies unanimously agreed that test-takers likely found it difficult to feel the linkage with EBS textbooks in the June mock exam.

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the Admissions Strategy Research Institute at Jinhaksa, said, "The question types were similar to last year, but the sentences and vocabulary were more difficult than last year’s CSAT. In terms of passage usage, students probably did not feel the linkage rate, and even those who studied the CSAT Special Lectures thoroughly likely found all passages unfamiliar."

Jo Heon-seop, chief researcher of the English section at Uway, explained, "The overall difficulty increased compared to last year’s CSAT, and the top grade rate is expected to be around 5-6%. The tendency to somewhat neglect English study after the introduction of absolute grading and the fact that it is still an early stage for perfect CSAT preparation are also factors affecting the overall difficulty."

In the English section, questions 34 and 37 were considered killer questions. Questions 33-34, which were non-linked blank inference problems, had higher vocabulary difficulty than last year’s CSAT and lacked sufficient clues related to the correct answers, making it difficult to grasp the context. Question 37 was also challenging because it required understanding the passage content to infer order through conjunctions and demonstratives. Vocabulary question 30, passage order arrangement question 36, and sentence location question 39 were also considered difficult.

Lee Young-deok, director of Daesung Academic Development Research Institute, said, "They increased the attractiveness of choices in main idea and blank inference types and presented high-difficulty passages in indirect writing types to secure discrimination for absolute grading. Students need to become familiar with the materials and concepts in EBS-linked textbooks, and since direct linkage questions were not included, problem-solving time may be insufficient. Therefore, continuous exposure to various high-difficulty passages and training to understand logical development are necessary."

Kim Byung-jin, director of the Education Evaluation Research Institute at Etoos, explained, "Since the 3-point allocation increased in some main idea questions such as inferring the meaning of underlined parts and inferring the theme of the passage, learning for questions requiring logical inference will become more important."

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