In a survey on the perceived difficulty of the October 2026 National Joint Academic Evaluation for high school seniors (October mock exam), responses saying it was 'difficult' outnumbered those saying it was 'easy.' Immediately after the exam held on the 20th, students' attention has focused on difficulty evaluations.

'Difficult' at 48.2% vs. 'Easy' at 33.4%

According to a survey posted on the EBSi website (as of 2:01 p.m. on the 20th), 'very difficult' was the most common response at 31.5% in the survey on perceived difficulty of the academic evaluation for seniors. 'Somewhat difficult' accounted for 16.7%, bringing the combined total to 48.2%.

In contrast, 'very easy' was 27.8% and 'somewhat easy' was 5.6%, meaning those who rated the exam as easy made up 33.4% in total. 'Average' responses stood at 18.5%. So far, those who found the exam difficult outnumber those who found it easy by 14.8 percentage points. However, with 'very easy' also accounting for a sizable 27.8%, evaluations of the difficulty are divided among students.

Only 54 respondents... limited generalizability

Notably, the survey had only 54 participants as of 2:01 p.m., limiting the generalizability of the results. If more respondents participate going forward, the ratios for each category and the overall perceived difficulty evaluation could change.

A test to assess learning levels ahead of the CSAT

This October National Joint Academic Evaluation was administered by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. It targets first-, second-, and third-year high school students, with the exam areas for seniors covering all subjects except Vietnamese and Arabic. The October mock exam serves as a reference for senior students ahead of the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) to assess their academic level and set their study direction for the remaining period.

However, since the perceived difficulty survey reflects respondents' subjective evaluations, it may differ from the actual exam difficulty or score distribution. It should be examined alongside analysis materials to be released later.

[Note: The perceived difficulty figures in this article are based on a survey on the EBSi website. As of 2:01 p.m. on the 20th, 54 people had participated, and response ratios may change significantly as more participants join. As the responses are subjective evaluations, they may differ from the actual exam difficulty and score distribution.]