The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education announced Thursday that it will conduct the year's first nationwide joint academic assessment for high school students in grades 1 through 3 across the province.
The assessment is jointly administered by all 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide. In Gyeongnam, a total of 83,839 students across 162 schools are scheduled to take the exam — 28,788 first-year students, 27,245 second-year students and 27,806 third-year students.
The test content is structured to reflect the evolving college entrance exam system for each grade level. First- and second-year students will take five subjects — Korean, mathematics, English, Korean history, and social studies (integrated social studies) and science (integrated science) — in line with the 2028 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) reform plan. Third-year students, however, will follow the 2027 CSAT framework. Korean and mathematics sections are administered in a "common + elective subject" structure, where students choose one elective between Speech and Writing or Language and Media for Korean, and one among Probability and Statistics, Calculus or Geometry for mathematics. For the inquiry (social studies and science) section, students may select up to two subjects regardless of their academic track.
The nationwide joint academic assessment is administered four times a year for first- and second-year high school students, and six times a year for third-year students, including two CSAT mock exams.
"This assessment will serve as an important indicator for students to gauge their individual academic capabilities," said Jeong Seon-hui, director of the Career Education Division. "We especially hope it will be a valuable opportunity for third-year students preparing for the CSAT to experience an exam conducted under the same format as the actual test, helping them improve their readiness for the real thing."
