CSAT and killer questions

 

Every year around this time, articles about the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) attract attention. The 2024 school year CSAT, which was held on the 16th of this month, was no exception. This year, we have estimated that the exclusion of so-called "killer questions" would make the test easier.

Consequently, some current college students and also quite a few young professionals who have already graduated from college were openly trying to take the CSAT again to get a high score to enter into their preferred universities such as medical schools. If so, hasn't it actually increased the level of competition as a result? What on earth are the killer questions?

The term "killer questions" has its roots in the field of management consulting and was popularized by David A. Aaker and Michael S. Gaskin in their book, "Brand Leadership (2000).” These questions were introduced to challenge traditional thinking and break through cognitive barriers. Since then, killer questions have found applications in various domains.

In the area of education, the concept of killer questions can be traced back to Socratic dialogue in ancient Greece. Socrates, a renowned philosopher, used a method of inquiry to stimulate critical thinking and foster intellectual growth. He believed that by asking open-ended, probing questions, individuals could better understand complex ideas and uncover hidden truths. This Socratic approach has something to do with the foundation for what we now refer to as killer questions.

Regardless of plausible definitions or explanations, we generally have an intuitive perception that the vocabulary refers to "extremely difficult problems to solve.” Why do they exist and trouble us?

Any test that aims to rank students has the potential to have elements of killer questions. Sometimes, those who write and administer the tests are tempted to take advantage of the discriminating power of killer questions. The sufferings experienced by the candidates are enormous, but it is often regarded as a necessary evil that cannot be helped. Hasn't the previous CSAT system developed such a process in depth?

With my experiences, in various tests inside and outside of schools, I have participated as a member of the examination committee. Each time, we couldn't resist the temptation of so-called killer questions. However, we often tried to exclude these and focus on simple questions that could be easily solved by test takers who had studied honestly and hard.

But in some such cases, the overall questions became rather easy, and even the "stupid questions" appeared. Test takers’ mistakes, not their abilities, became the difference between success and failure in the test. What I have learned is that it is difficult to ask difficult questions, but it is still tougher to make good and reasonable questions that properly access the basic understanding of content.

Like every other year, this year after the CSAT, there were several mentions and comments on the questions that had been asked. In general, the opinion is that the killer questions were effectively excluded, and a variety of basic discriminatory questions were presented, while maintaining overall difficulty.

The hard work of this year's CSAT committee members, who struggled more than any other year’s members, should also be properly recognized. It can be never denied that their efforts would have been to ease the burden of the examinees and their parents. Nevertheless, the effort to rank test takers was inevitable.

It would be really nice if we could finally say that this year’s CSAT is just a starting point to fairly evaluate the applicants’ honest efforts.

The writer (sochan57@naver.com) is a retired principal of Gunsan Girls' High School.