The First 2023 Mock Exam, English Similar to Last Year's CSAT... Perceived Difficulty Is Higher

In the nationwide high school joint academic assessment (March mock exam) conducted simultaneously across the country, the English section was presented at a difficulty level similar to the recent College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).

According to the Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute on the 23rd, the English section had a difficulty level comparable to the 2023 CSAT, but the length of the passages and the high vocabulary difficulty likely made the perceived difficulty higher.

On the 24th, when the 2022 academic year March National Joint Academic Achievement Test was conducted for 950,000 high school students from grades 1 to 3 nationwide, three students at Yongsan High School in Seoul were preparing for the exam. This academic achievement test is being held simultaneously nationwide on the same day for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Joint Press Corps

The blank inference type had difficult and lengthy passages. However, since the answer choices were relatively easy, if students carefully understood the choices, the correct answer rate is expected not to be low. That said, from question 31, the choices were composed of phrases rather than single words, and question 34 was evaluated as difficult to find the answer from passage interpretation to choice composition.

The grammar/vocabulary questions had tricky sentences in the correct answer parts, making them difficult to solve. In particular, question 34 of the blank inference type and question 37 on arranging the order of the following text were expected to be challenging for students.

Kim Byung-jin, head of the Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute, advised, “Since English is graded on an absolute scale, students may get 1 to 2 more questions wrong than usual in the actual CSAT due to various circumstances, so it is important to set goals higher than the grade boundary during mock exams and study accordingly.” He added, “Students should break away from the perception that ‘absolute grading is easy’ and develop a habit of consistent study.”

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