Taiwan exam board: Math A, B harder, benchmark scores drop

Taiwan's College Entrance Examination Center has announced the results for the 115th academic year's subject-specific tests, revealing a notable increase in difficulty for both Math A and Math B. Consequently, the benchmark scores for these subjects have dropped across the board compared to the last three years.

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The inquiry has been tasked with establishing the actual cause of the incident, reviewing the performance of the relevant authorities, fixing responsibility for any negligence, and proposing measures to prevent similar accidents in the future.

For Math A, the top score dropped by 2 points, the front score by 3, the average score by 2, the back score by 1, and the bottom score by 1. Math B, in its second year of examination, saw its top score decrease by 2 points, front score by 3, average score by 5, back score by 5, and bottom score by 4.

The center explained that the increased difficulty in Math A was due to one additional difficult question and one fewer easy question compared to last year. For Math B, although the number of difficult questions decreased by one, the reduction in easy questions was more significant, also impacting the overall difficulty.

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The top score, front score, average score, back score, and bottom score decreased by 2 points, 3 points, 2 points, 1 point, and 1 point respectively compared to last year.

Officials highlighted that the relatively small number of questions in the math subjects, typically just over ten, means each question carries a substantial weight. A single question's difficulty can therefore cause a significant shift in a student's overall score and grade level. Despite these shifts, the center maintained that the overall variations in scores are considered stable, especially when considering the scale of the tests.

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Although the number of difficult questions decreased by one compared to last year, the number of easy questions decreased even more, which also affects the difficulty.