College Scholastic Ability Test (South Korea)

College Scholastic Ability Test
Hangul	대학수학능력시험
Hanja	大學修學能力試驗
Revised Romanization	Daehak suhak neungnyeok siheom
McCune–Reischauer	Taehak suhak nŭngnyŏk sihŏm

College Scholastic Ability Test
2016 date	November 17
2017 date	November 16

College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT (Korean: 대학수학능력시험, hanja: ; also abbreviated as Suneung (수능)) is a type of standardized test accepted by South Korean universities. It was made official in 1994. CSAT is managed by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation(KICE). The test is offered every November, but the exact dates may annually change. CSAT plays an important role in the Education in South Korea. It is commonly believed that the CSAT will determine which university the student will enter. CSAT is even described as 'the chance to make or break one's future.' Of the students taking the test, the percentage of re-takers are about 20%.

On the test day, the stock markets open late and buses and subways are increased to avoid traffic jams that could prevent students from getting to testing sites, and planes are grounded so the noise does not disturb the students. In some cases, students are also escorted by police officers. Younger students and the members of the students' families gather outside testing sites to cheer on the students.

CSAT has been praised for its efficiency, factors, and high international results.

The Preliminary College Scholastic Ability Test (PCSAT) is a preliminary examination for the CSAT that is hosted nationally. The relationship between PCSAT and CSAT is comparable to that of PSAT and SAT. PCSAT is divided into two categories: National United Achievement Tests (NUAT) and College Scholastic Ability Test Simulation (CSAT Simulation). These two tests have more similar sample groups to CSAT than private mock tests do. Moreover, PCSAT’s examiner committee is similar to that of CSAT, so the types of questions resemble those seen in the CSAT. In particular, since CSAT Simulation is hosted by the same institution as CSAT, it is being used to predict the level of difficulty or the types of questions that might appear in that same year’s CSAT. Although both NUAT and CSAT Simulation are similar to CSAT regarding the number of examinees, types of questions, or relative difficulty, NUAT is hosted by the Ministry of Education targeting only high school students. On the other hand, CSAT Simulation is run by KICE and can be applied by anyone whose eligible for CSAT application. Nevertheless, both exams are in common for both can function as reliable, official mock tests for CSAT and both are graded by KICE. Please read below for more details on the two tests.

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