College Scholastic Ability Test

CSAT is designed for testing candidates' ability to study in colleges, making questions based on the high school curriculum of Korea to normalize high school education, and providing accurate and objective materials to help college admit students.[7]

All questions are multiple-choice, except for the second part of the Mathematics section.

It consists of 6 sections: National Language (Korean), Mathematics, English, Korean History, Subordinate Subjects (Social Studies/Sciences/Vocational Education), and Second Foreign Languages/Chinese Characters and Classics. All sections are optional with the exception of the Korean History Section, which is required for all candidates. Despite this, most candidates choose to take all sections except for Second Foreign Languages/Chinese Characters and Classics. For the Mathematics section, candidates choose to take either 'type Ga(가형)' or 'type Na(나형)'. The former is more difficult than the latter. Subordinate Subjects is divided into three sections: Social Studies, Sciences, and Vocational Education. Candidates can choose up to two subjects, but can't select from different sections at the same time. For example, one can choose Physics II and Biology I for the subordinate section since both are in Science section, but can't choose World History and Principles of Accounting because the former is in the Social Studies section and the latter is in the Vocational Education section. Only candidates who graduated vocational high school can choose Vocational Education section. In the Second Foreign Languages/Chinese Characters and Classics section, candidate choose only one subject. Most high-ranked universities require applicants to take two science subordinate subjects and type Ga in Math section if they apply to STEM major. In this case, they don't also accept combinations of subordinate subjects in same field, such as Physics I + Physics II.[7]

In National Language section, candidates are assessed on their ability to read, understand and analyze given texts written in Korean fast and accurately. The 45 questions of the subject is classified into four categories:

• Speech and Writing (10 questions)
• Grammar (5 questions)
• Reading (15 questions)
• Literature (15 questions)

This category consists of three passages with 10 questions. The first passage is a script of lecture or radio programme(Speech), the second one is another script of debate about an aritlce(Speech and Writing) and the last one is an argumentative essay(Writing). Although the name includes 'Speech', candidates don't really speech; they just read the script of scripts.

This category consists of 5 questions, for two of which a passage is given. Candidates are assessed on their ability to apply the knowledge of Korean grammar and Hangul. Knowledge of changes that happened in Korean from 15th century to today is required as well. It is suggested to spend about 20 minutes on this and Speech and Writing to save time for Reading and Literature.

This category consist of three articles, each with 4, 5 or 6 questions. The given articles are not only notoriously long but also on topics of abstract and complicated issues; Physics, Engineering, Economics, Law, Philosophy or Aesthetics is chosen for their topic normally. Recently, the topics are often presented in fusion. Candidates need to answer questions such as "(Of the five statements below) Which one does NOT agree with the passage above?" or "According to the passage, which one is correct analysis of the following example?". Many students lose the most points here.

This category consist of four texts, each with 3, 4, 5 or 6 questions. The first text is a comparation of modern Korean novel and scenario or Play script. The second one is a comparison of two modern Korean poems. The third one is part of Korean novel or Pansori and the last one is Korean poem, both of which are created in Silla era to Joseon era (Middle ages in West). Candidates should determine which one is the most accurate impression of the given text.

Mathematics section is divided into type Ga and type Na. Type Ga (Korean:가), usually taken by students applying for natural sciences majors, is based on Calculus, Geometry and Vector and Probability and Statistics, all of which are subjects taught in High school in South Korea. Usually taken by students applying for the humanities, is based on and Probability and Statistics. Most candidates choose to take type Na when they apply to CSAT. Below are the contents of base subjects.

Subordinate Subjects

Section	Field	Subject	Related Major	Contents
Social Studies	Ethics	Life and Ethics	Philosophy	Introduction to Ethics, Teleological / Deontological Ethics, Aquinas, Stoicism, Kant, Utilitarianism, Virtue ethics, Rawls, MacIntyre, Habermas
		Ethics and Thoughts		Eastern philosophy: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Korean philosophy Western philosophy: Sophist, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Hellenism, Christianity, Scholasticus, Protestantism, Empiricism, Rationalism, Bacon, Hobbes, Hume, Descartes, Spinoza, Utilitarianism, Mill, Bentham, Kant, Practical ethics, Existentialism, Virtue ethics, Communitarianism, Democracy, Social contract, Natural law, Capitalism, Socialism
	Geography	Korean Geography	Geography Koreanology	Geography, ecosystem and climate of Korean peninsula, Korean industrial structure based on geography, Specialties of provinces and North Korea
		World Geography	Geography	World map, Climate by latitude, Unique landforms in the world, Distributions of ethnic groups, languages and resources, Globalization, Regional conflicts
	History	East Asia History	History	History of Korea, China, Japan and Vietnam
		World History		History of the world, especially Eurasia
	Political Science	Laws, Government and Politics	Law Political science International relations	Political and legal philosophy, Electoral system, Constitutional law, Presidential / Parliamentary / Dual executive System, History of Korean Politics, Structure of Korean three offices, Civil, criminal and social law of Korea, International law
		Economics	Economics	Division of labor, Supply and demand, Unemployment, Inflation, Trade, Exchange rate, Asset management, History of Korean economics, and plenty of graphs
		Society and Culture	Sociology Anthropology	Structural functionalism, Conflict theories, Symbolic interactionism, Social research methods, Socialization, Social group, Deviance, Anomie, Durkheim, Merton, Culture, Social inequality, Marxian class theory, Social stratification, Poverty, Gender, Welfare, Modernization theory, Cyclical theory, Evolutionary theory, Industrialisation, Unemployment, Globalization
Science	Physics	Physics I	Physics	${\displaystyle F=ma}$Classical mechanics in One dimension, Theory of relativity, Electromagnetism: Electromagnetic induction and Faraday's law of induction, Properties of wave, Principles of semiconductor, Torque, Archimedes' principle, Pascal's law, Bernoulli's principle, Laws of thermodynamics
		Physics II		${\displaystyle {\vec {F}}=m{\vec {a}}}$I. Classical mechanics: Classical mechanics in Two dimension, Harmonic oscillator, Laws of thermodynamics, proof of Ideal gas law II. Electromagnetism: Electric dipole moment, Lorentz force, RLC circuit III. Wave and Light: Mathematical expression of wave, Huygen's principle, Superposition principle, Laser, Polarization of Light IV. Quantum mechanics: Black body, Wien's displacement law, Stefan–Boltzmann law, Photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, Matter wave, Davisson–Germer experiment, Uncertainty principle, Schrödinger equation, Wave function, Quantum tunnelling, STM
	Chemistry	Chemistry I	Chemistry	Chemical formula, Avogadro constant, Mole, Periodic table, Bohr model, Atomic orbital, Spin, Pauli exclusion principle, Hund's rules, Aufbau principle, Octet rule, Covalent bond, Ionic bonding, Coordinate covalent bond, Bond dipole moment, Acid-base, Reduction-oxidation, Structure of DNA
		Chemistry II		Van der Waals force, Hydrogen bond, ${\displaystyle PV=nRT}$ Ideal Gas equation, Mole fraction, Dalton's law, Cubic crystal system, Raoult's law, Vapor pressure, ${\displaystyle Q=cm\Delta t}$ Heat of reaction, Hess's law, Enthalpy, Gibbs free energy, Chemical equilibrium: Phase diagram, Solubility equilibrium, ionization equilibrium, Buffer solution
	Biology	Biology I	Biology	DNA, Gene, Chromosome, Structure of Cell, Cell division, Cell cycle, Mendelian inheritance, Anatomy, ATP, Ecology
		Biology II		Deepened version of Biology I, Hardy–Weinberg principle, Evolution
	Earth Science	Earth Science I	Geology Astrophysics	Spheres: Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Geosphere, Biosphere, Unique terrain of Korean peninsula, Earthquake, Volcano, Weathering, landslide, Weather, Tsunami, Environmental pollution, Climate change Universe: Star, Planet earth, Sun, Sunspot, Moon, Eclipse, Alien
		Earth Science II		Seismic wave, Gravity and Magnetic field of the Earh, Mineral, Magma, Sedimentary rock, Metamorphic rock, Hydrodynamic equilibrium, Adiabatic process, Ekman spiral, Sea water, Atmospheric circulation, Star, Milky Way, Big Bang, Dark energy
Vocational Education	Agriculture Science	Understanding Agriculture
		Basic Technology for Agriculture
	Engineering	General Engineering
		Basic Drawing
	Commerce	Commercial Economics
		Principles of Accounting
	Oceanography	Understanding Ocean
		Basic Fishery and Shipping Industry
	Home Economics	Development of Human
		Understanding Service Industry

• Second Foreign Languages/Chinese Characters and Classics
  • German I
  • French I
  • Spanish I
  • Chinese I
  • Japanese I
  • Russian I
  • Arabic I
  • Vietnamese I
  • Chinese Characters and Classics I

One who has graduated high school or passed GED has the opportunity to apply for the test. Students about to graduate high school can apply as well.

After KICE prints all test papers and OMR cards, they are distributed 3 days before the test to each test area by Police and each education office. In 2018, there were 85 test areas.

All test monitors are middle school or high school teachers. Superintendents in each education office decide who will monitor and where they will go. There are two test monitors for each period, with the exception of the fourth period which has three monitors because of the test paper collection. Most testing rooms are classrooms in high schools. There can be no more than 28 candidates in each testing room.

Except for the English section and the Korean History section, all grades are based on a curve, by Stanine. Grade, percentile and standard score of each section and subject are written in transcript. The standard score is calculated by the formula below:

${\textstyle S=z\sigma +m}$

${\displaystyle S}$ is standard score. ${\displaystyle z}$ is Z score. ${\displaystyle \sigma }$ is standard deviation of the standard score. ${\displaystyle m}$ is average of the standard score. In National Language and Mathematics section, ${\displaystyle \sigma }$ is set to be 20 and ${\displaystyle m}$ is set to be 100. For the rest, ${\displaystyle \sigma }$ is 10 and ${\displaystyle m}$ is 50. ${\displaystyle z}$ is calculated by the formula below:

${\displaystyle z={\frac {x-m_{0}}{\sigma _{0}}}}$

${\displaystyle x}$ is the candidate's original score. ${\displaystyle m_{0}}$ is the average of the original ${\displaystyle a}$scores of candidates in the subject. ${\displaystyle \sigma _{0}}$ is the standard deviation of candidates in the subject.

The CSAT is often compared to the American SAT, though the importance in both countries is fairly different. SAT Math is generally thought of as easier than CSAT Math.

Below is the 30th problem in Mathematics subject type Ga of CSAT held in 2016.

A function ${\displaystyle f(x)}$ defined for ${\displaystyle x>a}$, where ${\displaystyle a}$ is a constant, and a quartic function ${\displaystyle g(x)}$ whose leading coefficient is ${\displaystyle -1}$ satisfy the three conditions below:

A) For all real numbers ${\displaystyle x}$, such that ${\displaystyle x>a}$, ${\displaystyle (x-a)f(x)=g(x)}$.

B) For two different real numbers ${\displaystyle \alpha }$ and ${\displaystyle \beta }$, ${\displaystyle f(x)}$ has the same local maximum ${\displaystyle M}$ at ${\displaystyle x=\alpha }$ and ${\displaystyle x=\beta }$. (${\displaystyle M>0}$)

C) ${\displaystyle f(x)}$ has more local extrema than ${\displaystyle g(x)}$ does.

${\displaystyle \beta -\alpha =6{\sqrt {3}}}$. Find the minimum of ${\displaystyle M}$.

Below is the 29th problem in Mathematics subject for all applicants of CSAT held in 1996 that is considered to be the hardest one in history. It had correct response rates of 0.08%.

If two equations ${\displaystyle P(x)=0}$ and ${\displaystyle Q(x)=0}$ have 7 and 9 solutions respectively and a set${\displaystyle A=\{(x,y)\mid P(x)Q(y)=0,\ Q(x)P(y)=0\ and\ x,y\in \mathbb {R} \}}$ is an infinite set, ${\displaystyle n(B)}$, the number of elements in ${\displaystyle A}$'s subset${\displaystyle B=\{(x,y)\mid (x,y)\in A\ and\ x=y\}}$, varies according to the values of ${\displaystyle P(x)}$ and ${\displaystyle Q(x)}$. Find the maximum of ${\displaystyle n(B)}$.

Below is the 29th problem in Mathematics subject type B, previous name of type Ga, of CSAT held in 2013.

${\displaystyle P}$ and ${\displaystyle Q}$ are points on the sphere ${\displaystyle x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}=4}$. ${\displaystyle P_{1}}$ and ${\displaystyle Q_{1}}$ are the foots of two perpendiculars from ${\displaystyle P}$ and ${\displaystyle Q}$ to the plane ${\displaystyle y=4}$ respectively. ${\displaystyle P_{2}}$ and ${\displaystyle Q_{2}}$ are the foots of two prependiculars from ${\displaystyle P}$ and ${\displaystyle Q}$ to the plane ${\displaystyle y+{\sqrt {3}}z+8=0}$ respectively. Find the maximum of ${\displaystyle 2\left\vert {\overrightarrow {PQ}}\right\vert ^{2}-\left\vert {\overrightarrow {P_{1}Q_{1}}}\right\vert ^{2}-\left\vert {\overrightarrow {P_{2}Q_{2}}}\right\vert ^{2}}$.

Below is a notorious problem in English subject of CSAT held in 2010 which had correct response rates of 9.77%. The article is extracted from J. L. Stocks's 'The Limits of Purpose'.

So far as you are wholly concentrated on bringing about a certain result, clearly the quicker and easier it is brought about the better. Your resolve to secure a sufficiency of food for yourself and your family will induce you to spend weary days in tilling the ground and tending livestock; but if Nature provided food and meat in abundance ready for the table, you would thank Nature for sparing you much labor and consider yourself so much the better off. An executed purpose, in short, is a transaction in which the time and energy spent on the execution are balanced against the resulting assets, and the ideal case is one in which__________________. Purpose, then, justifies the efforts it exacts only conditionally, by their fruits.

① demand exceeds supply, resulting in greater returns

② life becomes fruitful with our endless pursuit of dreams

③ the time and energy are limitless and assets are abundant

④ Nature does not reward those who do not exert efforts

⑤ the former approximates to zero and the latter to infinity

The National United Achievement Test (NUAT, Korean: 전국연합학력평가,[9]; Hanja: 全國聯合學力評價) is administered in the same way as the CSAT. It was first introduced in 2002 to alleviate the dependency on private mock tests. High school students in South Korea can apply for this test, and local offices of education decide whether the test is administered in the district. Normally, every office of education throughout the nation participates in the NUAT to prepare the students for the CSAT; hence, the number of applicants is almost parallel to that of the CSAT. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education,[10] Busan Metropolitan Office of Education[11] (for freshmen and sophomores), Gyeonggi-do Office of Education,[12] and Incheon Office of Education[13] take turns creating the questions. KICE is in charge of grading and printing the report cards.

The basic structure of this exam is identical to that of the CSAT. For mathematics, social studies, science, and second language, the range the exam covers is determined by when the exam is held.[14][15] In the case of the Korean and English sections, the questions are not directly from textbooks but still constructed in consonance with the curriculum.

As of 2014, there are four NUAT a year; however, it is not same for every district, and some have only two exams a year for freshmen and sophomores. While the NUAT for freshmen and sophomores is held in March, June, September, and November, seniors take tests in March, April, July, and October to avoid overlapping with months when the CSAT Simulation is held (June and September). These two tests are appropriate for relative evaluations such as measuring average score, percentage, or ranks since the PCSAT has more similar sample groups to the CSAT than private mock tests do.

• March: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (seniors; freshmen and sophomores, 2006–2009, 2014), Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, 2010–2013)
• April: Gyeonggi-do Office of Education (seniors, since 2003)
• June: Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, 2014), Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, 2002–2004, 2010–2013; seniors, 2002), Incheon Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores 2005–2009)
• July: Incheon Office of Education (seniors, since 2007), Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (2005)[16]
• September: Incheon Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, since 2010), Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, 2004–2008), Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, 2009)
• October: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (seniors)
• November: Gyeonggi-do Office of Education (freshmen and sophomores, except 2003)
• December: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (freshmen, 2003)[17]

The College Scholastic Ability Test Simulation (CSAT Simulation, Korean: 대학수학능력시험 모의평가[18]) is hosted by KICE, and unlike the NUAT, anyone who is eligible for the CSAT can also apply for this test. The CSAT Simulation was introduced after the CSAT failed to set the proper difficulty level in 2001 and 2002. It was first implemented in 2002, and during its early years, it was held only once a year, in September. Starting from 2004, it is being held twice a year, every June and September. The exam covers everything in the curriculum for the Korean and second language sections; for other sections, two-thirds of what the CSAT covers. However, the September exam covers everything in every section just like the CSAT. The number of questions and test time per section is same as those of the CSAT.