Proportion of Students Scoring 90 or Higher in Math Plummets from 28.5% in Middle School to 1.2% in High School

Need to Examine the Gap in Test Difficulty

It has been found that third-year middle school students who scored high marks in mathematics during last year's midterm and final exams experienced a significant drop in their scores on the National Joint Academic Assessment (Academic Assessment) after entering high school this year. This has led to calls for a review of the gap in difficulty between school-based mathematics exams in middle school and the academic assessment.

On the morning of June 4, the day of the June mock test for the College Scholastic Ability Test, students at Geumcheon High School in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, are receiving Korean language test booklets. 2025.06.04. Photo by Joint Press Corps

According to an analysis by Jongno Academy on August 26, 28.5% of third-year students at 3,271 middle schools nationwide scored 90 points or higher in their mathematics internal assessments last year. However, only 1.2% of first-year high school students scored 90 points or higher in the mathematics section of this year's March academic assessment, indicating a significant disparity in difficulty between internal assessments and the academic assessment.

The gap was also pronounced in the 80-point-and-above range. While 45.4% of third-year middle school students scored 80 points or higher in last year's internal assessments, only 4.7% of first-year high school students fell into this category in this year's academic assessment.

For scores of 70 points or higher, the proportion dropped from 57.0% in third-year middle school to 11.3% in first-year high school. For scores of 60 points or higher, it decreased from 66.4% to 23.5%.

Unlike the sharp decrease in the proportion of high-scoring students in mathematics from third-year middle school to first-year high school, the proportion of students with low scores increased significantly.

The proportion of third-year middle school students who scored below 60 points in mathematics last year was 33.6%, but this figure nearly doubled to 76.5% in the first-year high school academic assessment.

In the March academic assessment for first-year high school students, questions are set within the scope of what was learned in middle school. However, as seen from the gap between third-year middle school internal assessments and the first-year high school academic assessment, even students who received high marks at school may find it difficult to achieve high scores in the nationwide first-year high school academic assessment.

Im Seongho, CEO of Jongno Academy, stated, "As students move from middle school to high school, the gap in test difficulty can lead to students giving up on mathematics." He added, "It is necessary to examine whether the mathematics tests in middle school are excessively easy, or if the March assessment for first-year high school students, which covers the middle school curriculum, is excessively difficult."

He also noted, "In particular, starting with this year's first-year high school students, the 2028 College Scholastic Ability Test will exclude Calculus II and Geometry, so it is important to ensure that this does not hinder the development of mathematical talent."

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