Türk Öğrencilerin PISA Başarı Düzeylerinin Veri Zarflama Analizi ile Yıllara Göre Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

AbstractThis research aimed to determine the relative efficiency of the types of school common to three administrations of the PISA (2003-2006-2009) by comparing their results, along with the activities that are to be performed for inefficient school types and changes in the efficiency value of the school types by year. The comparative analysis was based on information obtained from student questionnaires and cognitive skills tests. Turkish students completing the PISA in 2003, 2006, and 2009 comprised the population of the survey-based study. In the study, the data obtained from the PISA tests were analyzed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The results of the study indicated that the differences in quality among high schools are still prominent. The low economic, social, and cultural index of the elementary-school-level students, and vocational high school students' inability to allocate sufficient time for study outside of school hindered these schools' efficiency, as shown in the three administrations of the PISA. Consequently, student achievement was found to vary by year, and variables to be increased or decreased for improved student success have been identified.Key WordsDEA, PISA, School Type, Student Achievement.Education is currently the most important component of economic and social development, and is in rapid and constant change worldwide. Education is one of the most effective tools of political, social, and cultural integration and management of changes (Milli Egitim BakanlIgI [MEB], 2005a). Educational institutions aim to cultivate individuals able to respond to the requirements of the constantly changing world (Kutlu, Dogan, & Karakaya, 2008). Students' success in life depends on their attaining levels at which they are able to use the basic knowledge and skills they have learned during their school years (Berberoglu, 2006). Looking at students' levels of success in their school lives, we can make some deductions for the power of rivalry in countries' future economy (Acar, 2008). By means of successful individuals will increase the workforce, which ensures the country's development. Students' academic success is considered an important representation of the effectiveness of the educational system in many countries. In the process of finding and improving deficiencies in the educational system and its components, most decisions are made according to the findings obtained through objective instruments of measurement (MEB, 2010).One of the examinations used by the Ministry of National Education to evaluate student success is international, and compared the educational system with those of other countries: The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), prepared by the Organization for Economic CoOperation and Development (OECD). The PISA is a study carried out every three year to evaluate students' knowledge in math, science, and reading skills, it evaluates how much knowledge 15-year-old students in the OECD and other participating countries have so that they can understand their place in the modern world (MEB, 2010).Turkey participated in PISA in 2003 for the first time. The 2003 PISA results demonstrated math literacy; the average score was 425. According to the experts, this score is under even basic proficiency level. Although important reforms were made in 2006, results from that year were the same. In 2009, Turkey's PISA score increased from 425 to 446. From 2006, when the focus of field was science literacy, to the year 2009, Turkey has experienced a thirty score increase. In comparison to 2006 PISA scores, literacy scores increased by 17 (MEB, 2010). Although the scores increased, the position of Turkey in the international frame remained mostly unchanged. While Turkey stood between 37th and 44th positions among 75 countries in 2006, in 2009 Turkey remained in 41st and 43rd positions among 65 countries. The fact that the nation's standing did not change and that student success did not significantly improve should be analyzed by different statistics. …