Math Scores for First-Year High School Students Lowest Among Major Subjects for Third Straight Year

Korean had the highest average score, at 71.3 points
English had the highest proportion of E grades

The average mathematics score in the school records of first-year students at general high schools nationwide was the lowest among the five major subjects for the third consecutive year.

An analysis by Jongno Academy of data published on School Info showed that in the first semester of this year, the average mathematics score among first-year students at 1,679 general high schools nationwide was 66.3 points, the lowest among Korean, mathematics, English, social studies and science. Korean had the highest average, at 71.3 points, followed by social studies at 71.2, science at 68.9 and English at 67.2.

Examinees look over their test papers at Bangsan High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on September 2, the day of the September mock exam for the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test.

Mathematics recorded the lowest average score for the third consecutive year. Its average was 67.3 points last year, again the lowest among the five major subjects. Mathematics also had the lowest average in 2024, when the nine-grade system for school records was in effect, at 63.6 points.

The proportion of students receiving an A, corresponding to a raw score of 90 or higher, was also lowest in mathematics for the third consecutive year. In the first semester of this year, 20.2% of students received an A in mathematics, down 1.3 percentage points from 21.5% last year. The figure was 17.6% in 2024.

Social studies had the highest A rate this year, at 23.2%. It also had the highest A rate among the major subjects last year (26.0%) and in 2024 (22.02%). The A rates were 21.1% in Korean, 21.3% in science and 22.4% in English.

The score gap between social studies and science also persisted for the third consecutive year. This year, the average score in social studies was 71.2 points, 2.3 points higher than the 68.9 points in science. The A rate was also higher in social studies than in science this year, as it was last year and in 2024.

English had the highest proportion of students receiving an E, corresponding to a raw score below 60. This year, 18.2% of students received an E in English, the highest rate among the five major subjects.

English also had the highest E rate last year (17.3%) and in 2024 (24.8%).

The 2029 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which this year's first-year high school students will take, will follow the integrated CSAT system introduced in 2028. Mathematics elective subjects will be abolished, and all students will take the same mathematics test regardless of whether they are in the humanities or natural sciences track. Students taking the social studies and science inquiry sections will be required to take both integrated social studies and integrated science.

Lim Seong-ho, head of Jongno Academy, said, "The academic burden of mathematics and science appears to be relatively high for first-year students." He added, "As mathematics and science are expected to become more important differentiators in both school records and the CSAT for university admissions in 2028, it is important to build competitiveness in both subjects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.