Number of Top Scorers in Foreign Language Estimated to Be 27,300

Because Korea’s college entrance exam has adopted a grading system for the first time, the number of students who score in the first grade category in language, math, foreign language and science is expected to reach around 7,900 to 20,700, which could make choosing a major difficult.

Experts say that the low level of Math I questions will produce a large number of students who make the same grade, which is what happened in a September mock entrance test. Until last year, grades from the entrance exam along with “standard scores” enabled students’ aptitudes to be differentiated, but starting this year, those in the first (4%), second (7%) and third grade categories (12%) will all be awarded the same scores.

Private academic institutions, using the grade distribution of the September mock test, estimate that 26,300 students in language (4.51%), 7,900 students in Math I (6.17%), 17,768 students in Math II (4.34%) and 27,300 students in foreign language (4.86%) will fall into the same scoring category.

Due to easy math questions, some predict that for the first time in the history of college entrance exam, students will score 100 in the top category of Math I. Cheongsol Academic Institute said in an announcement yesterday, “Analyzing the preliminary grades of 45,000 students showed that the ratio of students scoring 100 in Math I increased by 0.7-0.8% from September mock test’s 3.8% Math scores will be the biggest variable because they will increase the number of students in the second grading category, even though the number of top scorers is expected to decline compared to 6.17% in September.”

In response, universities have decided to use the scores of individual subjects or essay writing scores to admit students, and academic institutes that prepare students with essay writing and interviews, which will be key determinants on the test, are attracting many students.

foryou@donga.com