Evaluation Institute: "No Significant Differences Between Graduates and Current Students in September Mock Exam"

High school seniors preparing for the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test are getting ready for the September mock exam on the 16th at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. This mock exam is the last practice test conducted by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, the organization responsible for the CSAT, before the actual exam. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The scoring results of the September mock test for the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) showed that the difference between graduates and current students was not different from previous years.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced on the 13th that the scoring results of the September mock test will be notified to examinees on the 14th. Individual score reports will be distributed to examinees through the places where they registered.

Contrary to expectations that there would be a score gap between graduates and current students due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the institute announced that there were no peculiarities in the September mock test following the June mock test.

Park Do-young, head of the Planning and Analysis Office of the CSAT Headquarters, explained, "When comparing the usual differences between current students and graduates, there were no peculiarities. Students who studied even once more inevitably have an advantage, and the degree of difference in this exam was the same as in previous years." He added, "There is no change in the basic policy of maintaining an appropriate difficulty level considering the characteristics of this year's examinees while keeping the usual test framework."

The standard scores distinguishing grade 1 and grade 2 by subject were 129 points for Korean, 126 points for Mathematics Type A, and 135 points for Mathematics Type B. For social studies, the scores ranged from 66 to 69 points depending on the subject; for science, 65 to 68 points; for vocational studies, 68 to 77 points; and for the second foreign language and Chinese characters, 63 to 75 points.

However, the admissions industry views that there is some academic gap when looking only at English, which is conducted on an absolute evaluation basis. The percentage of grade 1 in the September mock test English was around 5.8%, similar to 5.9% in last year's September mock test. However, grades 2 and 3 accounted for 29.6% in this mock test, down from 36.2% in the previous year's September test. Conversely, those below grade 5 increased to 43.8% in this mock test, compared to 37.9% in the previous year.

Im Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy Haneul Education, said, "The cause is unknown, but the top tier remains stable, the mid-tier has decreased, and the lower tier has thickened. Since most examinees are current students, it can be inferred that current students were more affected."

The number of examinees for the September mock test was 389,646, with 323,295 current students and 66,351 graduates (including those who passed the qualification exam). Scores of examinees who took the test through the online application website were not reflected in the scoring results, and separate scores calculated based on the standard scores, percentiles, and grades by subject and area were provided.

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