Repeat test-takers scored 13.3 points higher than current students in Korean language

Math gap also 12.1 points; repeat takers led top-grade rates across all subjects

Seoul topped the nation with 102.4 in Korean language, 102.3 in math

Private school and big-city students also posted relatively higher scores

Third-year high school students prepare for the September mock college entrance exam at Namsan High School in Daegu on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Third-year high school students prepare for the September mock college entrance exam at Namsan High School in Daegu on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Repeat test-takers — graduates who retake the College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT — outscored current high school students by more than 10 points in both Korean language and mathematics on last year's 2026 CSAT, according to data released Wednesday. The share of repeat takers earning top grades in all three core subjects — Korean, math and English — was also the highest of any group.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation released its analysis of 2026 CSAT results Wednesday, showing that total test-takers reached 493,896, up 30,410 from 463,486 the previous year. Of those, 333,102 were current students, 141,539 were repeat takers and 19,255 had passed the General Educational Development exam.

The performance gap was stark. Repeat takers posted an average standardized score of 109.4 in Korean language, compared with 96.1 for current students — a difference of 13.3 points. GED passers averaged 99.3. In mathematics, repeat takers averaged 108.6 against current students' 96.5, a gap of 12.1 points. GED passers averaged 95.6 in math.

The same pattern held at the top of the score distribution. In Korean language, 8.0 percent of repeat takers earned a first-grade rating, more than double the 3.3 percent among current students. Including second-grade ratings, repeat takers reached 18.9 percent compared with 8.1 percent for current students. In math, the combined first- and second-grade rate was 22.3 percent for repeat takers versus 9.5 percent for current students, a gap of 12.8 percentage points. In English, 25.3 percent of repeat takers earned first- or second-grade ratings, well above the 14.2 percent for current students. The institute said repeat takers posted the highest first- and second-grade rates across all three subjects.

Gender differences varied by subject. Female students averaged 100.5 in Korean language, edging out male students at 99.5. In mathematics, however, male students averaged 102.7, outpacing female students at 97.0 by 5.7 points.

Male students also led in top-grade rates for both Korean and math. In Korean language, 11.6 percent of male students earned first- or second-grade ratings, compared with 11.0 percent of female students. The gap was wider in math, where 17.2 percent of male students reached those grades versus 9.1 percent of female students. In English, female students held a slight edge, with 17.6 percent earning first- or second-grade ratings against 17.3 percent for male students.

An analysis of 2026 CSAT results shows a clear performance advantage for repeat test-takers. [Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation / Created with ChatGPT]
An analysis of 2026 CSAT results shows a clear performance advantage for repeat test-takers. [Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation / Created with ChatGPT]

Scores also differed by school type. Students at private schools averaged 99.4 in Korean language, 4.5 points above the 94.9 recorded at public schools. In math, private school students averaged 99.6 against 95.3 for public school students, a gap of 4.3 points. Private school students also posted higher first- and second-grade rates than public school students across all three subjects.

Among single-sex and coeducational schools, all-girls schools posted the highest Korean language average at 98.5, followed by all-boys schools at 97.5 and coeducational schools at 95.9. In math, all-boys schools led with 101.1, compared with 95.7 for all-girls schools and 95.9 for coeducational schools. All-boys schools recorded the highest first- and second-grade rates in all three subjects.

Regional disparities persisted as well. Students at schools in major cities averaged 98.9 in Korean language, above the 95.9 in mid-sized cities and 93.1 in rural towns and villages. In math, major-city students averaged 99.1, compared with 96.1 in mid-sized cities and 93.7 in rural areas. Major-city students had the highest first- and second-grade rates and the lowest eighth- and ninth-grade rates across all subjects.

Among the 17 cities and provinces, Seoul students posted the highest scores. Seoul's average standardized score was 102.4 in Korean language and 102.3 in math, ranking first nationwide in both subjects. The gap with the lowest-scoring region was 10.7 points in Korean language — against South Gyeongsang Province's average of 91.7 — and 10.2 points in math, compared with Gangwon Province's 92.1.

Seoul also led in the share of top-scoring students. Its first- and second-grade rate was 13.7 percent in Korean language and 16.7 percent in math. In English, 4.7 percent of Seoul students earned a first-grade rating and 17.6 percent a second-grade rating, putting the combined first- and second-grade rate at 22.3 percent. The institute's analysis found Seoul had the highest first- and second-grade rates in all three subjects among the 17 cities and provinces.

However, the regional and school-type breakdowns covered only current students at general, specialized and autonomous high schools, not all CSAT test-takers. The social studies, science, and second foreign language and Chinese classics sections were excluded from the comparative analysis because of the wide variety of elective subject combinations.


brunch@heraldcorp.com