[2024 CSAT] EBS: "Math Section Similar to or Harder Than September Mock Test"... Discrimination Power Is Key

Discrimination in Some Common and Elective Subject Questions
Admissions Industry: "Efforts for Discrimination Need to Be Evaluated by Results"

EBS analyzed that the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mathematics section was easier than the June mock test but had higher difficulty in some questions compared to the September mock test. The admissions industry explained that efforts were made to make the test difficult to distinguish top-tier students, but it remains to be seen how actual test-takers perceived it.

At the '2024 CSAT Mathematics Section Question Trend Analysis Briefing' held on the 16th at the Government Complex Sejong, Shim Ju-seok, a teacher from Incheon Haneul High School and a member of the EBS on-site teacher group who analyzed the second session mathematics questions, said, "It will feel easier than the June mock test but will carry weight due to the need to distinguish top-tier students compared to the September mock test."

He also explained, "While following the question-setting policy of the September mock test this year, questions of appropriate difficulty were arranged considering the characteristics of the test-taking group," adding, "The test was designed to maintain discrimination at a level similar to the 2023 CSAT."

Earlier, the September mock test mathematics section, which applied the 'killer question exclusion' policy, sparked controversy over discrimination as the number of perfect scorers in mathematics rose to 2,520, 3.9 times higher than the June mock test and 2.7 times higher than last year's CSAT. Regarding this, Teacher Shim explained, "We strengthened discrimination among top-tier students," and said, "The main difference from 'killer questions' was whether the questions reflected how much mathematical thinking could be progressed and whether the correct answer could be reached through short calculations."

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Teacher Shim cited question 22 from the common subject as an example. He said, "The correct answer rate varies depending on how much practice the student has done after learning it at school," adding, "While all students can draw an outline of a cubic function graph, finding a function that satisfies the conditions requires a lot of practice."

He continued, "Most of the problems could be solved if students studied public education materials and EBS textbooks sufficiently."

Questions with applied discrimination included question 15 in Mathematics I, question 22 in Mathematics II, question 30 in Probability and Statistics, question 30 in Calculus, and question 30 in Geometry. The EBS linkage rate was recorded at 50%, the same as last year.

The admissions industry analyzed that this year's CSAT mathematics section was set at a level similar to the September mock test and appeared to have made efforts to secure discrimination.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, evaluated, "It was set at a level similar to the September mock test, but additional questions were added to secure discrimination among top-tier students," and said, "Among elective subjects, Calculus and Geometry were set at a similar or slightly more difficult level compared to the September mock test."

Kim Byung-jin, director of the Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute, also said, "The common subject was easier than last year's CSAT and similar to the September mock test," and "Elective subjects were similar to last year's CSAT but similar or slightly more difficult than the September mock test." He added, "There seems to be an intention to adjust the difficulty of Calculus to last year's level to manage the number of perfect scorers, but we need to see the grading results to understand how well students adapted."

Questions with discrimination included subjective question 22 (differentiation) in the common subject and question 28 (integration) in Calculus.

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