The 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) will be held on Thursday, November 19, 2026. As soon as each period ends that day, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) posts the exam booklet and the preliminary answer key on its website -- and if something looks wrong with that preliminary key, anyone, not just the test-takers, can file an objection. That's not widely known. The September mock exam held on September 2 was a dry run of exactly this process.

The Preliminary Key Comes Right After Each Period -- the Final Answer Goes Through a Separate Process

What gets released on test day is only a preliminary answer key. It becomes the final answer key only after a review period in which objections are collected and examined. Because scoring is based on that final key, if an answer changes as a result of the objection process, scores can shift for every test-taker.

How to File an Objection -- KICE's Dedicated Online Board

Objections are filed through the dedicated objection board on the KICE website (suneung.re.kr). Filers select the subject area, question number, and the answer they believe is correct and submit a post -- and this isn't limited to the test-taker; parents and teachers can file objections too. The filing window stays open for only a few days after the preliminary key is posted, so if you have an objection, you need to act right after the announcement.

What Actually Happened at the September Mock Exam -- 154 Submissions, Zero Answers Changed

After the preliminary key for the 2027 CSAT's September mock exam was posted on September 2, KICE accepted objections through 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 5. A total of 154 posts went up on the board, but once duplicates and withdrawals were sorted out, the actual number under review came to 130 submissions across 68 questions. An Objection Review Working Committee -- which includes outside experts who had no role in writing the exam -- reviewed those questions first, followed by a final review from the Objection Review Committee. The result was announced at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15: all 68 questions were ruled "no issue found with the question or answer," meaning not a single answer was changed.

Answer Changes Are Rare, But They Have Happened

Most of the time, as with this September's mock exam, objections don't lead to any change. Still, the CSAT itself has, on a handful of past occasions, actually seen an answer changed or a second correct answer accepted. When that happens, the affected question is rescored -- either by crediting the new answer or by crediting everyone who answered it -- and a test-taker's actual score can end up different from their initial self-graded estimate. Questions involving complex passage interpretation or experimental conditions, such as those in the science electives or English section, tend to draw more objections, so if you're taking one of those subjects, it's worth checking online forums or the private-institute grapevine for a few days after the preliminary key comes out to see if any specific question is being disputed.

What Happened Last Year -- About Ten Days to a Final Answer

For the 2026 CSAT, held Thursday, November 13, 2025, KICE accepted objections for about a week after the preliminary key was posted, and the final answer key was confirmed on Tuesday, November 25 -- roughly 12 days after the test. This year's 2027 CSAT (scheduled for November 19, 2026) will likely follow a similar timeline, but the exact filing deadline and final-answer date can shift slightly year to year, so check KICE's announcement on test day itself to be sure. Given that the September mock exam's filing window cut off at 6 p.m. on a Saturday, it's safer not to wait -- check the board the same day the preliminary key is posted if you have an objection.

After the Final Answer Comes Score Reporting -- December 11

Once the final answer key is confirmed, scoring and the calculation of standard scores, percentiles, and grades all proceed from that key. The 2027 CSAT's score report date is scheduled for Friday, December 11, 2026. It also helps to know in advance that the three numbers on a score report -- standard score, percentile, and grade -- each carry different information, so you're not caught off guard when the report arrives.

Mapping Out the Steps That Follow, All the Way to Regular Admissions

Once the answer is finalized and scores are reported, students who applied under early-admission minimum score requirements find out immediately whether they've cleared the bar, and students preparing for regular admissions move on to checking how converted scores differ from university to university. Given that the September mock exam results come out after early-admission applications close, paying attention to the September mock exam's objection process now is directly useful practice for how you'll respond on CSAT day itself.

Putting It in Order

① When each period of the CSAT ends, check the preliminary answer key for that period on the KICE website. ② If something looks wrong, file an objection on the objection board, selecting the subject, question number, and your opinion -- remember that the filing window is only open for a few days. ③ The Objection Review Working Committee and the Objection Review Committee examine the objections, and the final answer key is announced. ④ Scoring proceeds from the final key, and following the rest of the senior-year calendar, you receive your score report on December 11. ⑤ Once you have your score report, immediately check your converted score for regular admissions or whether you've met the minimum score requirement for early admissions.