7 in 10 test-takers found June mock CSAT 'difficult,' with English hardest

By Kim Yong-jae, The Herald Business

About 7 in 10 test-takers rated the overall difficulty of the June mock College Scholastic Ability Test for the 2027 academic year as either "average" or "slightly difficult," according to a survey. English was particularly the most challenging subject, continuing a trend from last year's CSAT.

According to the results of the "2027 June Mock Exam Perceived Difficulty Survey" released by EBS on Friday, 37.8 percent of all respondents said the overall difficulty was "average," while 33.7 percent said it was "slightly difficult."

Breaking down the results by subject, the perceived difficulty varied considerably. In Korean language, more than half of respondents said the exam was either "average" (31.1 percent) or "slightly easy" (26.2 percent). Mathematics drew similar responses, with "average" (40.1 percent) and "slightly easy" (24.6 percent) leading the results, suggesting most students found it manageable.

English drew the most negative responses — 40.2 percent said it was "slightly difficult" and 29.4 percent said it was "very difficult," together accounting for 69.6 percent of all respondents. As with last year's CSAT, English proved to be the decisive subject in this June mock exam as well.

Perceived difficulty in the elective subjects varied by track. In social studies, "slightly difficult" (32.44 percent) and "average" (30.01 percent) were nearly evenly split. In science, however, a majority found the exam hard, with "very difficult" at 35.36 percent and "slightly difficult" at 30.70 percent.

College entrance experts are advising students to use the June mock exam results to take a hard look at their weaknesses and overhaul their study strategies for the months ahead.

Im Seong-ho, head of Jongno hagwon, said the English difficulty level on this June mock exam is expected to be around 3.5 percent — similar to last year's CSAT. "Since the English difficulty on this year's CSAT is also expected to be highly irregular, students should resist jumping to conclusions about difficulty and instead focus on past CSAT questions to get comfortable with shifts in question patterns," he said.

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the admissions strategy research institute at Jinhaksa, said the June mock exam "is not a test that predicts your CSAT score — it is a test that shows where you stand right now." He added that students should treat the results not as a reason to feel satisfied or discouraged, but as an opportunity to reassess their study direction for the time remaining.