Massive Participation of Repeat Test Takers in 'June Mock Exam'... Killer Questions and Medical School Expansion as Major Variables

Increase in Medical School Admissions, Killer Questions Highlight Difficulty
Number of Repeat Applicants Highest in 15 Years
4th Year of Integrated CSAT Brings Pros and Cons of Elective Subjects
EBS Linkage Rate at 50%, Enhancing Perceived Relevance

The first mock evaluation conducted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) this year, in preparation for the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), was held on the 4th. The June mock test is the first exam this year to include repeat test-takers (graduates or above), and with many variables such as the policy to exclude ‘killer questions’ (ultra-difficult questions) and the increase in medical school quotas, the focus is on whether the difficulty level is properly adjusted and discrimination power is secured.

The June mock test is being conducted from 8:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at 2,114 high schools nationwide and 502 designated academies. The Ministry of Education and KICE stated, "We aimed to set questions aligned with the high school curriculum level to measure abilities learned through school education."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This year’s June mock evaluation Korean language section appears to be somewhat easier than the 2024 CSAT. For the common subjects of reading and literature, so-called ‘killer questions’ were excluded, and the questions were designed based on core content or concepts of the curriculum, practically linked to EBS CSAT-related textbooks, resulting in high discrimination power within public education.

Regarding the integrated humanities passage dealing with the truth suitability of ‘moral sentences,’ EBS explained that since multiple viewpoints must be understood and compared, examinees might find it challenging. EBS stated, "Since core concepts covered in the EBS CSAT-related textbooks are utilized and specific examples are presented in the passage, those who read the passage focusing on these would have been able to sufficiently understand the content."

The June mock test, which has the same test areas and number of questions as the CSAT, serves as the benchmark for determining the difficulty level of the September mock test and the CSAT. The EBS linkage rate is about 50%. KICE explained, "We aimed to increase the sense of linkage by utilizing materials such as charts, illustrations, and passages included in the linked textbooks (EBS) in the questions."

In particular, this mock test is the first to be held after the confirmation of the increase in medical school quotas, and the large participation of repeat test-takers emerged as a variable. Among the total 474,133 applicants, 385,435 (81.3%) are current high school seniors, and 88,698 (18.7%) are repeat test-takers. The number of repeat test-taker applicants is the highest in 15 years since the 2011 academic year. Compared to the June mock test last year, the number of applicants increased by 10,458, with current students increasing by 10,060 and repeat test-takers by 398.

Jongno Academy analyzed, "Although the number of graduating students decreased this year, the increase in repeat test-takers seems to have already been influenced by the issue of expanding medical school quotas since last year," adding, "Depending on the scale of influx and academic level of repeat test-takers, it is expected to act as a significant variable in the difficulty level of the top-tier CSAT."

This year’s CSAT is also the fourth year of the integrated CSAT, which is taken without distinction between the humanities and science tracks. In the integrated CSAT system, issues of advantages and disadvantages due to difficulty differences in elective subjects have often been pointed out. This mock test also follows the ‘common subject + elective subject’ structure for the Korean language and mathematics sections. All examinees who choose Korean or mathematics must take the common subject, and for each area, examinees take one elective subject of their choice.

For the social and science inquiry sections, examinees can choose up to two subjects from 17 available subjects, and for the vocational inquiry section, up to two subjects from 6 available subjects. The correct answers will be officially announced at 5 p.m. on the 18th, and score notifications will be made on the 2nd of next month.

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