With the release of the grade cutoffs for 11th-grade (second-year high school) students from the October 2026 National Joint Academic Evaluation (October mock exam) administered on the 20th, attention is focusing on the score standards for the Korean and Mathematics sections. According to data posted on the EBSi website, the raw score cutoffs for Grade 1 in Korean and Mathematics are 93 and 77 points respectively, a 16-point difference between the two subjects.

■ Korean: Grade 1–3 Cutoffs All Rise Compared to Last Year

For the Korean section, Grade 1 was set at a raw score of 93 points, with a standard score of 131 and a percentile of 96. Grade 2 was a raw score of 86, standard score 126, and percentile 89, while Grade 3 was a raw score of 76, standard score 118, and percentile 77. The Korean average was 53.75 points with a standard deviation of 25.00.

Compared to last year's grade cutoffs, this year's Grade 1 raw score standard is 3 points higher, and Grade 2 is also 3 points higher. Grade 3 rose from 73 points last year to 76 this year.

■ Mathematics: Grade 1 Cutoff Drops 11 Points from Last Year

The Mathematics section showed a different score distribution from Korean. The Grade 1 raw score standard was 77 points (standard score 139, percentile 95), which is 11 points lower than last year's Grade 1 cutoff of 88. Grade 2 was a raw score of 66, standard score 129, and percentile 89, while Grade 3 was a raw score of 52, standard score 116, and percentile 77. Compared to last year's Grade 2 cutoff of 76 and Grade 3 cutoff of 58, these represent drops of 10 and 6 points respectively.

The Mathematics average was tallied at 34.78 points with a standard deviation of 21.74. Compared to the Korean average, the Mathematics average is 18.97 points lower.

■ Using Self-Grading Results to Estimate Grade Ranges

This October National Joint Academic Evaluation was administered by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. Using the released grade cutoffs as a reference, 11th-grade students can estimate which grade range their self-graded results fall into. However, it is necessary to check not only raw scores but also standard scores and percentiles. In particular, projected grade cutoffs may change depending on subsequent tallying, so caution is required in accepting the currently released figures as final results.

Meanwhile, the following are the projected grade cutoffs for the October mock exam posted on the EBSi website.