The final official mock exam for the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which will take place on November 19, is scheduled for September 2 across the country. Although the number of current high school seniors has significantly decreased due to a declining school-age population, the number of graduates and other repeat test-takers (N students) has increased, indicating fierce competition ahead.
The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), led by Kim Moon-hee, announced on the 25th that the September mock exam will be conducted simultaneously at 2,162 high schools and 574 designated academies starting at 8:40 a.m. on September 2.
A total of 501,128 students have registered for this mock exam. Among them, 388,203 (77.6%) are current students, while 111,925 (22.4%) are graduates and others.
Compared to last year's September mock exam, the total number of applicants has decreased by 15,772. While the number of current students has dropped by 22,007, the number of graduates and other test-takers has increased by 6,235, highlighting a contrasting trend. Compared to the previous exam in June, the number of current students has decreased by 3,209, while graduates and others have increased by 14,994, showing a significant influx of N students ahead of the main exam.
This September mock exam is designed to provide students with an opportunity to assess their preparation for the CSAT, including diagnosis and supplementary measures, as well as to adapt to the question types and levels. The nature of the exam, the subjects tested, and the number of questions will be the same as those for the 2027 CSAT scheduled for November 19.
KICE plans to identify areas for improvement in the mock exam's question setting and grading process to reflect in the actual 2027 CSAT. Grading will be conducted using image scanners, similar to the CSAT, and results will be communicated to students by September 29.
A KICE official stated, "Since image scanners will be used for grading, test-takers must use only black ballpoint pens when filling out their answers. If there are any marks left by pencils or mechanical pencils, they may be graded as multiple answers, resulting in penalties, so they should be completely erased with correction tape." Additionally, students who do not take the Korean history section will have their entire scores invalidated, and no score report will be provided, so caution is advised.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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