'September Mock Exam' Korean Subject Slightly Harder Than June Mock Exam... Differentiation Through Choices

EBS "Excluding Killer Questions, EBS Linkage Rate 51.1%"
Jongno Academy "Information Volume and Complex Choices"
Etus Edu "Difficulty Likely Lower Due to EBS Linkage"

The Korean language section of the September mock test for the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was analyzed by the admissions industry to be somewhat more difficult than the June mock test. According to government policy, 'killer questions' were excluded, and it appears that differentiation was made in the answer choices.

At 10 a.m. on the 6th, the first session of the Korean language section of the September mock test for the 2024 CSAT, administered by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, concluded. On the same day, the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) provided an analysis of the test trends, including difficulty by session, together with on-site teachers.

EBS summarized the difficulty of the Korean language section by stating, "It is analyzed to have been somewhat more difficult than the June mock test this year." The current teachers' group analyzed, "For the common subjects of reading and literature, so-called killer questions were excluded, and the questions were designed based on the core content or concepts of the curriculum, closely linked with EBS CSAT textbooks." EBS analyzed that the overall linkage rate of questions in the Korean language section was 51.1%, corresponding to a total of 23 questions.

When asked by reporters how differentiation was secured without including killer questions, they explained, "The sophistication of the answer choices," adding, "We selected concepts likely covered in the public education curriculum and core concepts from EBS that most test-takers have encountered, choosing content that is not difficult and explaining it with sufficient examples."

On the morning of the 6th, when the final mock exam before the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (November 16) was held, students are preparing for the exam at Yeouido High School in Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Jongno Academy also explained in a press release on the same day, "Compared to the June mock test, existing high-difficulty killer questions were excluded," and "However, differentiation was secured through the difficulty of the answer choices." They added, "In reading passages, high-difficulty texts involving large amounts of information, excessive inference, technical terms, and advantages or disadvantages between science and humanities students were excluded," and "Relatively difficult questions in reading passages were also linked to EBS passages."

On the other hand, Etoos Edu analyzed that the difficulty level of this September mock test is similar to that of the June mock test, but the perceived difference will be significant. This is because the strengthened linkage with EBS is expected to lower the perceived difficulty.

Questions with high differentiation were commonly identified by both EBS and Jongno Academy as questions 8 to 11 (reading, science and technology). These are questions related to the 'piezoelectric effect' in the science and technology passage, where the amount of information to infer from the passage and the complexity of the answer choices were relatively high. This passage is included in the 7th lecture of the EBS CSAT Special Lecture on Science and Technology.

Questions 12 to 17 (reading, integrated humanities topics) were also commonly mentioned. These are contents included in the 4th practice mock test of the EBS CSAT Completion, and the answer choices appear to have been presented in a complex manner.

EBS also analyzed questions 27 (literature, mixed genres), 38 (language and media), and 40 (speech and writing) as differentiation questions. In contrast, Jongno Academy evaluated that literature questions were set at the June level. They analyzed that the difficulty of speech and writing questions was similar to the June mock test, while language and media questions were somewhat more difficult than in June.

Etoos Edu assessed that the speech and writing questions might have felt somewhat challenging because three passages were linked together.

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