[Issue Plus] The first college entrance exam since I added to medical school...What is the difficulty level and entrance examination strategy?

■ Host: Lee Yeo-jin, anchor Jang Won-seok
■ Starring: Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News PLUS] when quoting.

[Anchor]
From this year's SAT difficulty assessment, we will analyze the strategies of entrance examination with entrance exam experts.

[Anchor]
I'm with Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy. Please come in.

[Anchor]
At 5:45 until the 5th period, it was all over a while ago.

Did you all watch it? Have you seen Korean, math, and English?

[Lim Seongho]
I've read all the Korean and maths, and teachers are watching English until the end on my way here. In general, Korean and maths were a little different from 1st and 2nd classes. In fact, we're checking teachers' responses and having students in college take a sample test this year, and students who are going up to the 3rd grade next year in high school didn't go to school today. I've had those students solve the questions in the sample group, and the teachers said that it was easier than last year, but when we look at these samples overall, it is checked that about 9 points out of 100 in the Korean language are better than last year, so the difficulty of solving about 4 to 5 questions in 2 points has decreased. You can see it like this, and overall, the score is about 6 points better than last year in mathematics, so overall, it is a little easier now, and the current report says that English is easier than last time. Last year, 4.71% of English was in the first grade, but it was quite easy because it was a little easier than last year. So, if English is similar enough to last year's level, in fact, it should be absolutely easy for high school seniors who applied for early admission centered on school records because English is an absolute evaluation, but if this part itself is close to last year's level, it is somewhat difficult to meet the minimum of the CSAT in early admission. Currently, the response is mixed, and 10% of English came out in September. Given that the situation is not that far, Korean and mathematics are a little easier in general, and so far, we have seen it.

[Anchor]
According to our reporter's message, EBS has a lot of evaluations that it's easy overall. In the entrance examination industry, there are some difficulties, so it may be less than expected, but if you focus on simple or tricky, which one do you think is closer to?

[Lim Seongho]
I think this needs to be distinguished. There were no difficult problems that were fatal to the top ranks. Our teachers evaluate these parts the same way, and when we look at the sample, those parts appear. However, fingerprints and other parts became easier for students in the middle or that level, and the fatal problem to very difficult math was that last year, and it was difficult to find such a problem this year. In the top ranks, the discrimination ability has decreased significantly, and in the middle ranks, the process of understanding the question itself and finding the correct answer is still difficult. So, the temperature difference between the temperature difference, difficult and easy may vary depending on the level, and last year, there was a problem that even very top students could not touch, but this year, many of those parts have disappeared.

[Anchor]
Let's take a closer look at each subject. Normally, if the difficulty level is high, wouldn't the highest point of the standard score increase? So, the opposite case is lowered, but usually it is evaluated as an easy test if it is in the 120s, and a difficult test if it is in the mid to late 140s. Last year, the Korean language test was 150 points, but how many points can you expect this year?

[Lim Seongho]
I don't really use this expression these days if I get 150 points in Korean. In fact, the standard score is 150 points, and the cut line for the first grade is around 84 points based on the original score of 100, so it is very difficult to say that you have to get 7 to 8 questions wrong in order to get the first grade. Looking at the sample now, I think the Korean language has definitely become easier than last year's CSAT. In 2023, about 130 points were formed. It's around 134 points. Considering the current sample of college students and students today, it is currently expected that it will be over 130 points, which is equivalent to the 2023 school year, but it may change when samples of students in the evening or repeat students come in, but at present, it seems to be true that it has been lowered, and depending on the situation, the 140 points are broken, and it is carefully predicted up to 130 points.

[Anchor]
Then, is it a little more difficult compared to the recent September mock evaluation?

[Lim Seongho]
In fact, the mock evaluation in September had no special meaning even if I got a perfect score. And during the mock test of the Korea Institute of Evaluation in September, students who chose Korean writing now could have entered the first grade if they did not get a perfect score wrong, and those who chose language media got about one question wrong because 97 points were the first grade cut line, and when the standard score was 129 points and 126 points in writing, the top students got all right, and even if they got in the first grade, they were all formed in the section with many equalizer distributions, so even if they didn't get one wrong, they weren't able to enter a good university stably, and it was a test that could be determined by what happened to other subjects.

[Anchor]
Aren't there common subjects and elective courses for Korean and math right now? That's why the speech and writing or language and media you just talked about are elective subjects. This time, let's look at math. Math had a high of 148 last year's standard score on the CSAT, but what score do you expect this year?

[Lim Seongho]
The highest standard score was 137, although last year's calculus was 148 points and the probability and statistics were relatively difficult. The difference between the calculus score, probability, and statistics was up to 11 points. In fact, if last year's average liberal arts student was probability and statistics, and science students were calculus, the gap between liberal arts and natural sciences widened to 11 points in the maximum section even after receiving the same score. This year, the gap between liberal arts and natural sciences is still higher than the probability and statistics of liberal arts, and even if they get the same score, they have no choice but to form the same score even if they get the same original score, which is slightly lower than last year's 148 points. Depending on the situation, it is possible to see up to the early 140s, but it is very difficult to predict the standard score now, but in the current calculus situation, it is about 6 points ahead of last year. Then, if the first-grade cut line was 84 points last year, if the first-grade cut line is in the late 80s or early 90s depending on the situation, the standard score is likely to fall much more than last year's 148 points.

[Anchor]
There was a controversy over killer questions during the CSAT last year. I remember it as number 22 but how was it this time?

[Lim Seongho]
I specified killer questions last year, and all formal parts such as two or three concepts, very complex and difficult fingerprints were omitted. In the case of differential questions such as last year's math No. 22, the actual answer rate was only about 0.8%. In terms of external conditions this year, two or three concepts and very difficult complex fingerprints were omitted, and this problem was a problem that could not be touched, even our teachers today. Therefore, it can be said that there is little problem with the correct answer rate of less than 1% as in last year, and the recent trend itself is that the correct answer rate is 50% or less, and the medium difficulty level is quite difficult, and the discrimination power is almost split in such questions. So, students who are scoring again this evening have narrowed it down to two out of five examples, and those problems, which were quite confused about which one would be the correct answer, have entered into securing discrimination, and no questions have been found that are more fatal than last year, as killer questions have been found so far.

[Anchor]
There are now common subjects in mathematics, but elective subjects have probabilities and statistics. Isn't there calculus and geometry? Calculus is being evaluated as being relatively tricky right now, do students who want to go to medical school choose calculus a lot?

[Lim Seongho]
Most science students choose calculus and few choose geometry. It is said whether the calculus was difficult or easy, but in fact, even at this point, the calculus is now more difficult than last year. Right now, it's a relatively elective subject of probability and statistics. Eight out of eight and 30 questions have probability and statistics, and eight questions have calculus, and the eight questions have relatively difficult calculus. In the current standard scoring system, even if you get the same score, you'll get 148 points in the calculus even if you get the same score, and only 137 points in the probability and statistics. If you get the same score in the calculus elective course and the probability and statistics, the difference may widen even if you get the same score in the calculus, probability, and statistics. So now, these situations can have a direct impact on liberal arts and universities, and this year, a school that can apply to all majors, liberal arts, and science has been created, so this difference in scores between calculus, probability, and statistics is also a point of great interest.

[Anchor]
The English section where the questionnaire was released about an hour ago. There was a message a little while ago that the questions were easier than last year's CSAT, so is there any problem in securing discrimination?

[Lim Seongho]
In fact, if the English level reached 4.71% last year, 20,000 students entered the first grade. Then, if the questions are a little easier than that, it will be more than 20,000 students. If the number of medical school recruits nationwide is around 4,500 from time to time, it is meaningless to secure great discrimination when you enter on time. However, if the ratio of students with high school records increases, students in the local area or students with high school records will put them in medical schools and meet the minimum of the CSAT in early admission. Students who are at a critical decision point in this regard will be affected by the easy and difficult English, for example, 4.7% last year, but this year stayed at around 5-6% from last year's level. In fact, it cannot have a big impact on regular admission, and in a way, the possibility of students with excellent school records not meeting the minimum of the CSAT is a little higher. You can see it like this, and Korean and mathematics are relative evaluations, so whether it is easy or difficult, the first and second grades are 4% and 11%. Therefore, it is easy and difficult, so it is not possible to specify these parts that are advantageous or disadvantageous to secure the lowest grade of the CSAT in early admission.

[Anchor]
Wasn't this the highest number of applicants for graduates in 21 years? 2042 more people, what impact will this have?

[Lim Seongho]
Originally, the number of high school seniors decreased by 36,000 last year compared to before. Then, if there was a decrease of 36,000 people, if the number of retakers this year was a general situation, it is normal to say that there should have been a decrease of about 15,000 people, but it is very unusual to say that there was an increase of 2,000 people. Then, in the background of this unusual situation, there was an issue of expanding the number of medical school recruits. Then, in the face of the issue of expanding the number of medical school recruits, the number of N students who did not take the test now in June rose to the highest level in 21 years, and 93,000 students came to the test site today.

Then, we estimate these students as semi-subjects. Among the top-ranked university science and engineering students, students who are currently taking a leave of absence from medical school will try again, or simply say that the number of high-quality N-subjects has increased. When the actual scoring results come out, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that the existing high school seniors or students who have already retaken the exam will be slightly lower than the existing scores. Based on the overall situation, it is highly likely that N-subjects have entered the school, which are slightly higher than before. As such, we are currently estimating.

[Anchor]
Previously, I analyzed Korean, math, and English with the CEO, and if it is easier overall than last year's CSAT, who is more advantageous between the current student and the N student?

[Lim Seongho]
If the top-ranked students came out easily according to the current trend and the easy result was a practical situation, it means that the distribution of the score section itself within the first grade will be narrowed, and the number of students with the same score and tie will increase now. Even if the CSAT is somewhat easy, given the current trend, I think there are many N students who are easily at the top and reduce mistakes. Then, even if the questions were easily presented, there is a possibility that the proportion of N students itself in the upper ranks will increase. Then, it will be easier in the relative evaluation of Korean and mathematics, so the top students will have a lot of N students, but unless English becomes extremely easy, high school seniors are not very good at securing top grades. In terms of Korean language, mathematics, and inquiry, N students may be induced at the top, but if the problem becomes easier and the discrimination is poor, this score may not guarantee a stable acceptance to that university or medical school. So one of the reasons is that even if you're in the same first grade, if you have a few thousand students in the section that corresponds to the standard score, you actually lose competitiveness. Then, no matter how well you did in other subjects or how well you did in this subject, competitiveness may actually be impossible to demonstrate. As such, it can be fierce, and when the actual scoring results come out, you have to carefully decide whether to apply upward or downward depending on how many students are in your score range and whether there are many or few students in your score range.

[Anchor]
Last time, the CSAT was evaluated as a non-CSAT, and the mock evaluation in June this year was very difficult, but it became very easy in September. Do you think we succeeded in controlling the level of difficulty this time?

[Lim Seongho]
I was very sensitive to the difficult parts of last year. And because it was too difficult during the mock examination of the Korea Institute of Evaluation in June, it was generally successful in going easy on those difficult parts. You can see it like this, but depending on the situation, securing the discrimination power of the top ranks may also be a problem in the future.

[Anchor]
I've said countless times that medical school will be a variable now, but how can I actually figure out the entrance examination trend?

[Lim Seongho]
As the number of medical school applicants expanded this year, the number of medical school applicants increased by 17,000 from early admission. And the overall number of medical applicants has decreased, but the competition rate for medical schools itself has fallen, as the number of medical school applicants has increased by 1,000 in early admission alone. As such, it has become easier to enter medical school, so you can receive messages like this, and most universities in the Seoul area and the Seoul metropolitan area have increased their competition rates from time to time. As such, the expectation that the passing line of the rest of the university's general departments will be lowered if the top students are focused on medical school. Therefore, the overall pattern of application itself is a situation in which the overall expectation of passing the top universities has increased. So, there was a slightly upward application pattern for early admission, but if the score is good based on the actual original score this year, students who can think of their own upward application pattern until the actual scoring results are released on December 6th can also see that the level itself has increased.

[Anchor]
The increasing number of non-major selection is also a major variable, what does this mean?

[Lim Seongho]
With the introduction of the Integrated Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in 2022, it is estimated that almost 95% of students who entered the first grade of mathematics are science students compared to science students. Then, in the past, the invasion of liberal arts by cross-applying with liberal arts was an issue, but from this year on, it will be divided into non-major selection, type 1 and type 2, but in the case of type 1, there is no distinction between liberal arts and natural sciences at all. So you can go to the science department or the liberal arts department, but the problem is that even if the difference in scores is the same when the liberal arts and science students apply on time, the science students are ahead of the math score. Then, depending on the situation, in the case of Type 1, which is supported by liberal arts and science at the same time, the possibility that most successful students will be monopolized by science students cannot be excluded. In the case of Type 2, even if you select a major in liberal arts, application in science, and so on, language and media have been ahead of other languages, speech and writing in Korean. Then, even if you apply within the same department, if you are a student who chose language and media, or a student who chose speech and composition, if you get the same 100 points and there is a difference in scores, there will inevitably be considerable concerns about the application. So, how much difference will there be between elective subjects in Korean and mathematics in integrated mathematics this year? Since this is the first year of full introduction and expansion of non-major selection, it can be a significant variable on time.

[Anchor]
I see.

I pointed out with Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, about the college entrance exam held today. Thank you.