The Proportion of Repeat Test Takers in September Mock Exam Hits 11-Year High "Expected to Exceed 30% in the College Scholastic Ability Test"

Among Applicants, 18.9% Are Repeat Test Takers, Highest Since 2012
Proportion of Repeat Test Takers in CSAT Expected to Surpass 30% Since 2001

On the 9th, the day the June mock exam for the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, third-year students at Yongsan High School in Seoul were preparing for the exam. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The proportion of repeat test-takers (N-su students) among applicants for the September 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock exam is expected to reach the highest level since the 2012 academic year.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced on the 28th that the September mock exam will be conducted from the 31st at 2,124 high schools nationwide and 456 designated academies. Among the 489,370 applicants for the September mock exam, 397,119 (81.1%) are current students, and 92,251 (18.9%) are graduates or repeat test-takers (N-su students).

N-su Students Increased by 15,576 Compared to June Mock Exam

Compared to the September mock exam last year, the number of applicants decreased by 29,307. Current students decreased by 11,943, and graduates and other test-takers decreased by 17,364. Compared to the June mock exam, the number of applicants increased by 12,222,

with graduates and N-su students increasing by 15,576, while current students decreased by 3,354.

As with last year's CSAT, Korean and Mathematics will be conducted in a 'common subject + elective subject' structure. In the Social Studies and Science inquiry areas, applicants can choose up to two subjects from 17 options. English, Korean History, and the Second Foreign Language/Chinese Characters sections will be conducted on an absolute evaluation basis. The linkage rate between EBS CSAT textbooks/lectures and mock exam questions is 50% based on the number of questions.

COVID-19 positive and symptomatic individuals are also allowed to take the exam. Confirmed positive test-takers will take the exam in separate rooms within the test centers, and graduate test-takers can apply for on-site testing through the CSAT website and take the exam at 21 designated separate test centers by region. They can also take the exam online or receive the question papers on their behalf after the exam to take it at home and submit answers through the online exam website to receive their score reports. However, scores from online test-takers will not be reflected in the overall results.

Objections to questions and answers can be submitted from the 31st until 6 p.m. on September 3rd. After review from September 5th to 15th, the final answers will be announced on September 15th. Score notifications will be issued on September 29th.

Highest Proportion of N-su Students Since 2012

According to an analysis of September mock exam applicants by Jongno Academy, the number of N-su students is the highest since the 2012 academic year. Although the number of applicants for the August mock exam last year was 109,615 (21.1%), this included inflated numbers due to students seeking COVID-19 vaccinations, so this year’s figure is considered the actual maximum scale.

The proportion of N-su students is expected to exceed 30% during the November CSAT. In the 2021 September mock exam, the N-su student participation rate was 16% (78,060), but it surged to 29.7% (146,760) during the actual CSAT.

Based on the September mock exam N-su student participation rate, it is highly likely that the proportion will exceed 30% during the actual CSAT. The N-su student rate during the June mock exam by the Institute was also 16.1%, the highest since 2012.

On the 9th, when the June mock test for the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, third-year students at Yongsan High School in Seoul were preparing for the exam. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The proportion of N-su students among CSAT test-takers is also expected to surpass the highest rate since 2000. Since the 1999 academic year, the only time the repeat test-taker rate exceeded 30% was in 2001 (30.8%).

Since the CSAT was first administered in 1994, the repeat test-taker rate surpassed 30% six times: the second CSAT in 1994 (33.8%), 1995 (38.9%), 1996 (37.3%), 1997 (33.9%), 1998 (30.7%), and 2001 (30.8%).

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, explained, "The increase in repeat test-takers is due to multiple factors, including the expansion of the regular admission scale, significant advantages and disadvantages caused by the integrated CSAT, and cross-application from science students to liberal arts in regular admissions. High school seniors should recognize that the influence of these repeat test-takers is higher than in any other year and that it is very important not to give up on any specific subject area but to study evenly across all subjects."

Half-Year Repeaters Join the Actual CSAT... Score Predictability Decreases

Since 60,000 to 70,000 half-year repeaters who did not take the June or September mock exams may join the actual CSAT, score fluctuations are expected to increase. Irregular difficulty levels between common and elective subjects may occur, making it difficult to analyze competitiveness in specific areas prematurely.

It is also explained that setting the CSAT minimum grade strategy subjects as English and Social Studies for liberal arts students and Mathematics and English for science students can be a desirable strategy in early admissions.

CEO Lim said, "Although entering the top grade in English is difficult, entering the 2nd to 3rd grade in the actual CSAT is generally manageable. Last year, 27.9% were within the 2nd grade, and 53.1% within the 3rd grade. While entering the top grade is difficult, entering the 2nd to 3rd grade is feasible. Liberal arts students should keep in mind that even with Mathematics grades between 4th and 6th in the integrated CSAT, admission to Seoul area universities through regular admissions is possible."

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