With 100 days remaining until the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT, November 13), there is growing analysis that students should focus on subjects with high discriminatory power during the remaining period.

According to the admissions industry on August 4, this year's CSAT is expected to maintain the trend of high discriminatory power that has continued over the past several years. Since the introduction of the integrated CSAT in 2022, the highest standardized scores for Korean and Mathematics have hovered in the 140-point range, maintaining a 'high-difficulty' trend.

The highest standard score for Korean language was 149 in the 2022 academic year, 134 in 2023, 150 in 2024, and 139 in 2025. During the same period, the highest scores for mathematics were 147, 145, 148, and 140 respectively.

English is also evaluated on an absolute scale, but the proportion of first-grade scores remains between 4% and 7%, making it a subject with discriminative power.

At this point, as most high schools have completed the CSAT curriculum, it is recommended to focus on advanced learning in August and September, and then concentrate on full-scale mock exams and error review in October and November. Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, stated, "Especially this year, with a long Chuseok holiday, it is very important to establish and implement an individual study plan that can be executed from now until right before the CSAT."

There is advice that a strategy is needed for Mathematics and Korean, where differences in standardized scores occur between elective subjects.

Based on the June mock exam, the highest standardized score for 'Calculus', mainly chosen by natural sciences students, was 143 points, while 'Probability and Statistics', mainly chosen by humanities students, was 136 points, resulting in a 7-point gap. This means that, for the same raw score, the 'Probability and Statistics' subject is at a disadvantage in terms of standardized score.

In Korean, the highest standardized score for 'Language and Media' was 137 points, while 'Speech and Composition' was 132 points, a difference of 5 points.

Recently, the phenomenon of natural sciences students choosing social inquiry subjects instead of science inquiry subjects, known as 'Satamrun', has become prominent, and it appears that inquiry subjects will emerge as a major variable for both the humanities and natural sciences tracks.

In the June mock exam, the number of students who received grades 1 or 2 in the nine social inquiry subjects (Social and Culture, Ethics and Thought, Life and Ethics, World Geography, Korean Geography, Politics and Law, World History, East Asian History, Economics) increased by 27.6% (14,777 students) compared to the previous year, while in the eight science inquiry subjects (Earth Science I·II, Life Science I·II, Physics I·II, Chemistry I·II), the number decreased by 21.2% (9,200 students). There are projections that the 'Satamrun' phenomenon may intensify as more top-tier natural sciences universities recognize social inquiry subjects for the 2026 CSAT. As a result, even existing top-performing students in social inquiry may experience greater score volatility in the actual CSAT.

On the morning of the 14th, when the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, examinees were waiting for the exam to start at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

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Looking at the results of the 2025 regular admissions, it was found that the 'Inquiry' subjects had high discriminatory power for both humanities and natural sciences tracks.

According to Jongro Academy's analysis of 21 major universities in Seoul and 750 departments, discriminatory power was high in Mathematics and Inquiry for the humanities track, and in Korean and Inquiry for the natural sciences track. For humanities applicants, the proportion of those with grade 3 or lower was relatively low in English (28.3%) and Korean (30.0%), but exceeded half in Mathematics (55.9%) and Inquiry (55.5%). In contrast, for natural sciences applicants, the proportion of grade 3 or lower was low in Mathematics (17.1%) and English (36.8%), but higher in Korean (45.2%) and Inquiry (51.2%). Experts advise that humanities students should thoroughly review their strategies for Mathematics and Inquiry, while natural sciences students should do the same for Korean and Inquiry subjects.

Kim Byung-jin, head of the Etoos Education Assessment Research Institute, stated, "For those aiming to meet the minimum CSAT requirements through 'Science Inquiry', which is expected to see a decrease in test-takers due to the 'Satamrun' phenomenon, special attention is needed. At the same time, for 'Social Inquiry', where the number of test-takers is expected to increase, an increase in test-takers does not guarantee better scores, so it is necessary to enhance study concentration."