The 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), held on the 13th, has been analyzed as more difficult than last year’s test. While there were no so-called “killer questions” that required private education to solve, experts noted that high-difficulty questions demanding significant time were distributed throughout the exam, increasing the perceived difficulty for test-takers. Notably, the Korean and English sections were particularly challenging.
This year’s CSAT saw a reduction in medical school recruitment quotas and recorded the highest number of test-takers (554,174) in seven years since the 2019 academic year. This increase in participants made securing appropriate discriminatory power crucial. The 2007-born cohort, which was born during a period of high birth rates, took the CSAT this year as high school seniors, leading to an increase of over 30,000 enrolled test-takers compared to the previous year.
Kim Chang-won, chair of the CSAT question committee and a professor at Gyeongin National University of Education, stated at a briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day, “We excluded questions favorable to students trained in private education techniques across all sections,” adding, “The questions followed a similar approach to last year’s CSAT, where difficulty adjustment was well-implemented.”
Yoon Yoon-gu, a teacher at Han Yang University of Education Affiliated High School heading the EBS on-site teacher team, said, “The overall difficulty is similar to last year’s, but questions for top-tier discrimination were harder, so test-takers might find it slightly challenging.”
Last year’s CSAT, while less difficult than the “historic tough test” of two years ago, was evaluated to distinguish top-tier students. Experts believe this year’s CSAT has higher top-tier discriminatory power due to more challenging questions. The “EBS linkage rate,” using EBS textbook passages or similar questions, remained in the 50% range.
Key Challenges in Different Sections
The first session’s Korean section is evaluated to have been harder than last year. Though many EBS-linked passages were included, analysis shows students generally spent more time solving questions.
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Admissions experts highlighted question 12 in reading as the most difficult. It required understanding physics concepts like thermal expansion and selecting answers based on given scenarios. With scientific terms such as linear thermal expansion coefficient and curvature, some criticized its favor toward science-track students. However, Han Byung-hoon, an EBS Korean instructor at Deoksan High School, explained, “Question 12 tests relationships between concepts, not isolated knowledge,” adding, “Clear textual evidence exists, so it’s not a killer question.”
Lee Man-ki, head of the Uway Education Evaluation Institute, said, “Many students likely found it time-consuming and perplexing due to the need to meticulously search passages for conceptual content.”
The second session’s math section was slightly harder than last year’s. While common subjects and calculus were similar in difficulty, “probability and statistics” and “geometry” were deemed challenging. Shim Joo-seok, an EBS math instructor at Incheon Haneul High School, assessed, “Questions securing top-tier discriminatory power were strengthened while maintaining public education-focused principles.”
High-difficulty questions included common subject 22 (Mathematics I) and 21 (Mathematics II), “probability and statistics” 30, “calculus” 30, and “geometry” 30. Many found question 21, testing function limit properties and condition interpretation, particularly tough. Kim Byung-jin, head of the Etoos Education Evaluation Institute, said, “Many likely found it harder than last year,” adding, “Time management during common subjects will be key.”
The third session’s English section was widely deemed harder than last year’s (6.2% top grade ratio) and similar to or tougher than the high-difficulty September mock evaluation (4.5%). English switched to an absolute evaluation in 2018, where a raw score of 90+ grants the 1st grade. Kim Ye-ryeong, an EBS English instructor at Daewon Foreign Language High School, said, “Incorrect answer choices were made more attractive to ensure discrimination,” adding, “Questions requiring precise reading skills will determine mid-to-high-ranking students’ scores.” High-difficulty questions included 32 and 34 (blank inference), 37 (passage order), and 39 (sentence placement).