First Test Since 'Excluding Killer Questions'... Why Repeat Test Takers Flocked to the 'September Mock Exam' (Comprehensive)

21.9% Repeat Students, 78.1% Current Students
Expectations of Difficulty Reduction Following Government Policy
Increased Interest in Medical School Admission Also Influences

This September, the proportion of 'repeat test-takers' including graduates among applicants for the college entrance exam mock test reached an all-time high. This was the first evaluation conducted after the government's recent policy to exclude 'killer questions' (extremely difficult questions), and it appears that expectations of a lower difficulty level and an increase in the number of students aspiring to enter medical schools influenced this outcome.

According to the application results for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) September mock exam released by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation on the 24th, the number of repeat test-takers including graduates was 104,377, accounting for 21.9% of all applicants. This is an increase of 16,077 compared to the June mock exam this year and 12,126 compared to the September mock exam last year.

This is the highest figure since the first mock exam conducted by the Evaluation Institute in 2011. The proportion of repeat test-takers in the September mock exam, which had maintained the 10% range from 2010 to 2020, rose to 21.1% in 2021, dropped to 18.9% last year, and has now surpassed 20% this year.

Alongside this, the proportion of current students in the September mock exam recorded an all-time low of 371,448 (78.1%). The proportion of current students first fell into the 70% range in 2021 and has remained in the 70% range this year as well.

On the morning of June 1st, when the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) June mock exam was conducted, students at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, were waiting for the exam to start in their classrooms. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Earlier in June, the Ministry of Education announced measures to eliminate killer questions from the CSAT to reduce private education burdens. The Presidential Office reportedly decided to apply the exclusion of killer questions starting from the September mock exam following the announcement. The Evaluation Institute conducts two mock exams annually in June and September, and this September mock exam serves as the last opportunity to assess difficulty before the actual CSAT this year.

With expectations that the exclusion of killer questions would result in an 'easy CSAT,' it is interpreted that many repeat test-takers including graduates applied. Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the Admissions Strategy Research Institute at Jinhaksa, said, "The exclusion of killer questions inevitably has an impact," adding, "The increase in applications is likely due to the belief that the CSAT will become easier." Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, also remarked, "Considering the significant increase in simultaneous users at cram schools for repeat test-takers taking the September mock exam compared to last year, it feels like interest among repeat test-takers has grown," and added, "Overall, the psychological burden regarding the CSAT seems to have lessened, which appears to have influenced this."

Increased interest in medical school admissions is also analyzed as a contributing factor. Nam Yoon-gon, head of the Admissions Strategy Research Institute at MegaStudy, said, "As students' interest in medical schools grows, not only repeat test-takers but also those attending school or working are joining in to take the exam." According to the applicant data released by the Evaluation Institute, repeat test-takers have a higher participation rate in the science inquiry section (60.8%) than in the social inquiry section (39.2%).

The number of applicants by section for the September mock exam is 475,374 for Korean, 472,391 for Mathematics, 475,198 for English, 475,825 for Korean History, and 251,253 for Social Inquiry. The Science Inquiry section has 251,653 applicants, the Vocational Inquiry section has 6,818, and the Second Foreign Language/Chinese Characters section has 27,398 applicants.

On the 1st, teachers at the Jongno Academy headquarters in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, are analyzing the Korean language section of the June 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test mock exam. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Accordingly, considering that the June mock exam this year also recorded the highest repeat test-taker ratio (31.1%) since 2011, there is a strong possibility that the proportion of repeat test-takers will increase in this year's actual CSAT as well.

CEO Lim said, "The proportion of repeat test-takers in this year's actual CSAT could be expected to rise to the mid-30% range, higher than last year," and added, "With the significant increase in repeat test-takers this year, it is advisable for current high school seniors to focus their efforts on early admission opportunities."

Applications for the September mock exam were accepted over nine days from August 26 to September 6. The mock exam is scheduled to be held on September 6.

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