`Fluctuating College Entrance Exam` – Average 66.5 Points Declined.

In the College Scholastic Ability Test for 2002 academic year, the average scores of the top 50 percent examinees dropped by 66.8 points, indicating the sharp fall of CSAT score as expected.

The Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE) created the questions in order that the top 50 percent examinees would score average 77.5 ± 2.5 in 100 point scale, anticipating the fall of 16-37 points, but it failed to control the degree of difficulty.

And the Ministry of Education and Human Resources did not open the score distribution map in order to achieve the purpose of the newly-introduced 9 grade system, which was designed to lessen the weight of the CSAT. But it might create a considerable confusion in guiding college-applying students.

The KICE announced the result of CSAT for 2002 academic year yesterday, and sent the personal scores to 718,441 examinees. There was no perfect scorer this year, contrast to 66 last year.

The KICE said that the first rank examinees (top 4 percent by the transformed standard score) under the 9 grade system marked above 344.43 points for Humanities, and 359.17 points for Sciences. And the second rank examinees (top 11 percent) earned 322.90 points for Humanities, and 344.62 for Sciences.

The average score of total examinees also dropped by 66.5 points, marking 210.8 point (52.7 points by 100 point scale) in 400 point scale.

For top 50 percent students, while the Humanities examinees marked 272.6 points, fell by 65.8 percent, the Sciences examinees marked 306.4 points, plunged by 49.6 points, showing that the score of Humanities examinees declined much more than that of Sciences examinees.

According to the KICE, the verbal section was a determining factor in sharp decline of the scores. In verbal section, while the top 50 percent examinees recorded the average of 84.1 points for Humanities, fell by 24.6 points, the Sciences examinees marked the average of 88.6 points, dropped by 21.8 points.

And the decline of score presents itself as follows; △ in mathematical section, Humanities 16 points, Sciences 10.4 points △ in social studies, Humanities 9.8 points, Sciences 3.9 points, △ in natural science, Humanities 7 points, Sciences 7.5 points, △ in foreign language, Humanities 8.4 points, Sciences 6.0 points.

Among the successful applicants for the occasional admission during the second semester, many did not satisfy the minimum standard set by each college.

Since the second-time applicants, who graduated high school last year, recorded 11.3 points in Humanities and 15.8 points in Sciences higher than those of current students, thus they are expected to have an advantage on competition.

The college guide institutes anticipated that the qualifying score for Seoul National University would be 367-376 points in Humanities, and 371-379 points in Sciences. For Korea University and Yonsei University, it would be 337-360 points in Humanities, and 345-370 points in Sciences.

Lee In-Chul inchul@donga.com