The purpose of this study was to analyze null curriculum in English language teaching as practiced in lieu of English curriculum from the perspective of English language teachers. In other words, the study aimed at evaluating null curriculum from the perspective of English language teachers. This study employed basic qualitative research model to reveal the experiences and opinions of English language teachers on null curriculum. The interviewees were twenty English language teachers who teach in secondary schools. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect the data, and content analysis method was employed to analyze the results. Three themes—achievement, content, and testing were used to contextualize the findings. Speaking skills were found to be the most neglected curriculum component, followed by writing and listening skills, as a consequence of the analysis of the research findings. According to the research results, the neglect of teaching these skills was caused by insufficient lesson hours, students' readiness levels, overcrowded classrooms, and central exams factors. In addition, it was concluded that there were adaptation problems in the new assessment system that aimed to assess four language skills in an applied way in English lessons, which was put into practice in the 2023-2024 academic year. In this case, attention was drawn to the contradiction between the High School Entrance Exam, which includes multiple-choice questions based on reading skills, and the new applied assessment system, which aimed to assess four language skills. It was suggested that the curriculum should be simplified and organized, and that measures should be taken, and regulations should be introduced to eliminate the inconsistency between the education provided, evaluation methods and the education desired.

Curriculum standardization, central exams and achievement inequalities in primary education: A cross-national longitudinal study

The aim of this study is to determine the achievements of the After School Courses, which have been implemented in all secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education since the 2014-2015 academic year, and the problems in the implementation process. In this study, the case study method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted in order to conduct an in-depth and comprehensive examination. Data were collected from 10 teachers and 10 school administrators working in public secondary schools. The data obtained from the interviews with teachers and school administrators were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis technique. According to the results of the research, teachers and school administrators stated that the courses make an important contribution to preparing students for central exams. Yet, dropping out was cited as the biggest problem in after school courses. It was concluded that a separate course program would be more effective in terms of being successful in central exams. It is thought that the results obtained from this research will guide all stakeholders related to after school courses, especially the Ministry of National Education.

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between secondary school teachers' curriculum fidelity and their views on central exams. The study was designed with relational survey model. The population of the study consists of Turkish language, mathematics, science, English language and social studies teachers working in secondary schools affiliated to Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of National Education during the 2021-2022 academic year. The sample of the study consists of 517 secondary school teachers randomly selected from these field of studies. "Curriculum Fidelity Scale", "Scale of Views on Central Examination" and "Open-ended Questionnaire Form" were used as data collection tools. The data of the study were collected online between 28.06.2021 -14.03.2022. As a result of the study, it was determined that there was no significant relationship between secondary school teachers' curriculum fidelity and their views towards central exams. However, no significant relationship was found between the curriculum fidelity of secondary school teachers working in Supporting and Training Courses and their negative views towards central exams. On the other hand, a positive and significant relationship was found between the curriculum fidelity of secondary school teachers working in the Supporting and Training Courses and their views towards the central exams. Keywords: Curriculum, Curriculum fidelity, high-stakes tests, secondary school teachers,

The current literature underscores the significance of identifying mental models and the relevance of science subjects to everyday life. Grounded mental model theory and the use of context-based questions are crucial for effective mental model detection in science education. This study aims to develop a learning situation test to identify context-based mental models for the unit on electricity transmission. To create the 'Context-based Electricity Transmission Learning Situations Test' (CbLST), relevant studies were reviewed to gather alternative ideas. Additionally, input was collected from 178 science teachers across Türkiye to ensure national applicability. The study also examined the science curriculum, central exams, the educational information network, and textbooks for the electricity transmission unit, along with existing context-based question studies.Expert opinions from six specialists were solicited for the CbLST. Following a pilot test with 293 students, item analyses were conducted. The research culminated in the development of the CbLST, comprising 21 questions, enabling the identification of students' grounded mental models. Recommendations for integrating the CbLST into the literature are provided, positioning it as an innovative tool for uncovering students' grounded mental models.

This study aims to examine the mathematics questions in the 8th-grade mathematics textbook and the mathematics questions in the central exam for secondary education institutions (2018-2022) in the context of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. In the study, the document analysis technique was employed. The study used as a document the 8th-grade mathematics textbook and the central examination in 2018-2022. Teacher opinions were also taken to support the documents. Descriptive analysis was used for the analysis of the qualitative data. The study findings revealed that 4% of the questions asked in the last five years' central exams for secondary education institutions (2018-2022) were at the level of understanding, 56% at the level of practice, 39% at the level analyzing, 39% at the level of analyzing, and 1% at the level of evaluating, with no questions at the level of remembering and creating. The unit evaluation questions in the 8th-grade mathematics textbook were at level of remembering, 41.66% at the level of understanding, 47.50% at the level practice, and no questions were asked at the level of analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The study determined that the problem was teachers not using the textbook as a result of exam-oriented education.At least 3 and at most 5 keywords reflecting the integrity of the work should be written by the author in the places specified in the template.

Background Studying dentistry is known to be stressful for students, due to the highly demanding type of study. In the academic year 2021\2022, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research launched a unified central exam (UCE) for dental and pharmaceutical students in all Iraqi universities. Objectives This study aimed to assess the level of anxiety, stress, and depression associated with this new exam system. Materials and Methods Depression, anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used in an Arabic version. This tool was uploaded online and sent to the dental students in Tikrit University immediately after the UCE and once again after an ordinary exam. Descriptive statistical analysis and ordinal regression were conducted. Results 258 students participated in this study. 64.4% were females. Extremely severe anxiety was reported higher with statistically significant results in UCE among year 2 and 5 dental students (p-value 0.007 and 0.024, respectively). Stress was statistically significant among final-year dental students in the UCE compared to the ordinary exam (p-value= 0.033). Around 41% of the dental students showed extremely severe depression regardless of the exam type they sat. Conclusion An increase in negative emotions was noticed among dental students. Anxiety and stress were noticed among those students more after sitting the UCE compared to the ordinary exam. However, depression was prevalent among dental students in general regardless of the type of exam. It is recommended to consider and support the mental health among dental students.

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the 11th and 12th grade mathematics curriculum implemented in 2018 with the CIPP model, one of the curriculum evaluation models. The research was carried out with a mixed method in which quantitative and qualitative data were used together. In Türkiye, 90 11th grade students, 90 12th grade students and 50 mathematics teachers participated in the study. In order to obtain the quantitative data of the study, the CIPP model and the scale for evaluating the high school mathematics curriculum in terms of process and product dimensions were applied to the students and the questionnaire prepared by the researcher was applied to the teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 teachers to obtain qualitative data. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the questionnaire applied to teachers was .938, and the Cronbach Alpha value of the scale applied to students was .94. Content analysis and descriptive analysis were used together in the analysis of qualitative data. As a result, the subjects of the curriculum are sufficient, the physical environment is suitable for the implementation of the curriculum and there are sufficient resources, the learning outcomes of the curriculum are appropriate for the level, the readiness of the students is not appropriate, time cannot be used efficiently due to the spiral system, the curriculum is student-centred, the information learned is difficult to apply in daily life. It was determined that the historical concept of mathematics was not emphasized, teachers used smart board, z book and EBA, the curriculum was carried out in cooperation with the teachers in the department, the curriculum did not provide students with sufficient mathematical skills that they could use in daily and social life, and it was sufficient to prepare them for central exams.

This research aims to examine Turkish lessons implemented in science and art centers. The research is in the case study type, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of this research consists of 4 Turkish teachers and 59 students working at the science and art center in the Yozgat province. In this research, interview and observation methods, which are qualitative data collection methods, were used. Interviews were held with Turkish teachers. Turkish lessons in science and art centers were monitored with an observation form. Classes are held five days a week in science and art centers. The general aim of Turkish lessons in science and art centers is to implement activities that will enable students to realize and develop the skills they have. The materials used in Turkish lessons in science and art centers are as follows: activity books, Turkish supplementary course materials, interactive board, computer, and books. Teachers must be creative. Teachers must be well-equipped and researchers. Turkish support book should be developed. Twenty percent of the students in the class can participate in the science and art center exams. Eighth grade students at the science and arts center may be absent due to central exams. It is necessary to reduce this absenteeism. It is recommended that Turkish teachers working in science and art centers be selected among teachers with master's and doctoral degrees. All students who want to take the science and art center application exams should be able to participate.

Educators may occasionally neglect certain parts of the curriculum that they consider relatively unimportant. There are instances when inadequate time and pupils' readiness for central examinations are cited as justifications for these occurrences. The aim of this research was to examine the reasons that lead teachers who teach courses that are tested on the Upper- Secondary School Entrance Exam, which is the central exam for 8th graders, to ignore the curriculum according to the opinions of the teachers. The research was designed according to the case study, a type of qualitative research. The study group of the research consists of a total of 15 teachers, 6 of whom work in private schools and 9 of whom work in public schools, in the province of Hatay in the 2021-2022 academic year. A purposive criterion sampling method was used to select the teachers. Research data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and analyzed by content analysis method. It was found that most of the teachers interviewed ignored or abandoned the curriculum because of central exams or external pressures. It was stated that some reasons related to school administrators, parents and students forced teachers to make changes in course teaching methods and processes or forced them to abandon the curriculum. Keywords: Educational curriculum, commitment to the curriculum, curriculum abandonment, central exams, teacher examinations

In this study, it was aimed to analyze the 5th grade social studies test items of the Ministry of National Education Non-Paid Boarding Scholarship Examination (PYBS) held between 2018-2023 according to the value classification by using the document analysis method. Within the scope of the research, 100 social studies test items asked at the 5th grade level in PYBS were analyzed by taking a 5-year section between 2018-2023. For the classification of the items, it was determined that the national and universal values within the purpose of the study were present in the test items. Accordingly, 33 of the 100 items included items with national and universal values (33%). Of these items, 22 were universal values (66%) and 11 were national values (33%). It was observed that national and universal values were not homogeneously distributed while preparing exam questions in central exams such as PYBS, whose results enable disadvantaged groups to receive a more equitable education, and that the items related to value education were homogeneously distributed in the test items according to the current social studies course curriculum. In the future PBYS exams, studies can be conducted to increase the items that include national values.

Most central examinations in upper secondary school were cancelled by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (NDET) in 2020–22 due to COVID-19. Teacher assessment became the sole final assessment. An illuminative study was conducted to get perceptions of 12 informants representing policy makers, university leaders, teachers, principals, teacher unions, and a student union about central exam cancellation. This study finds that cancellation of central exams is perceived to have both positive and negative consequences on the educational system. The informants argue that students’ stress and anxiety levels concerning central exams were reduced, and students had more time to work with the curriculum. Credibility of students’ final assessment has been challenged and, moreover, sole teacher assessment has created a more favourable basis for admission to higher education due to an increase in average grade points in competition with non-COVID-19 cohorts. The lack of examiner training reduced teachers’ opportunities to strengthen their assessment literacy, since central exams seem to be a key to develop final assessment literacy.

Science and science education has been an important phenomenon in human history in every age. It is seen that every developed nation throughout history gave importance to science and its education. While these science curriculum changes are an inevitable necessity in the evolutionary process of education, frequent and superficial changes cause some problems. The aim of this study is to compare 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade science textbooks prepared according to 2013 and 2018 science education curriculums in terms of physics concepts and to investigate the compatibility of the change with today's conditions and central exams. It is to examine the compatibility of these changes with the science education curriculum, which came into force in 2018 and implemented in education faculties. It was determined that the number of physics concepts in 5th, 6th, and 7th-grade science books prepared according to the 2018 science curriculum decreased by 67.46%, 14.53%, and 6.14%, respectively. The number of physics concepts at the 8th-grade physics level has increased by 64.66%. These changes are compatible with the questions asked in high school transition exams. A serious incompatibility can be seen between the sciences teaching curriculum applied at the education faculties with the 2018 science curriculum.

After the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye in 1923, the madrasah system was abolished, and new schools, called Imam Hatip Schools (IHSs), were established to train “officials responsible for the performance of religious services” in 1924. These schools have slowly transformed from vocational schools into mainstream schools, partly because of the public’s demand for religious and academic education at state schools. In this qualitative research, through official documents and existing studies, we explore the IHSs’ historical foundations and their features. Then, we examine the recent initiatives, namely the “project school” and “program diversity”, launched by the conservative government to improve the quality of the IHSs and to make them competitive in today’s exam-oriented education system. The history of the IHSs shows that these schools have always been at the centre of politics of religion and have experienced periods of prosperity and decline depending on the ruling elites and governments. The IHSs have some crucial features which make them a unique model for Islamic education in the Turkish education system. The new initiatives seem to positively impact the IHSs, as they can now enrol students through central exams and aptitude tests. Yet, they also have ramifications, the most important being that these schools will move further away from their initial purpose, which was to train religious officials.

Bu araştırmada, özel yetenek sınavı sistemi ve merkezi yerleştirme sınavı sistemleri ile yerleştirilmiş spor yöneticiliği öğrencilerinin, spor yöneticiliği mesleğinin gereklilikleri çerçevesinde karşılaştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Karma yöntem araştırma desenlerinden eş zamanlı karma yöntemler araştırması deseninin tercih edildiği araştırmada, nicel veriler araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen anket formu araçlığı ile nitel veriler ise yine araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen yarı yapılandırılmış metafor formu kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Araştırma katılımcılarının belirlenmesinde amaçlı örneklem yönteminden tipik örnekleme yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Bu çerçevede özel yetenek sınavıyla alım yapan Ankara Üniversitesi ile merkezi yerleştirme sistemi ile alım yapan Gazi Üniversitesi spor yöneticiliği bölümü öğrencileri çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Bu çerçevede çalışmaya 121 spor yöneticiliği bölümü öğrencisi katılım göstermiş, ancak 121 form arasından geçerli durumda olan 109 veri formu analizlere dahil edilmiştir. Nitel veriler içerik analizi yöntemi ile nicel veriler ise betimsel istatistiki yöntemler ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma bulgularına göre, spor yöneticiliği bölümlerine merkezi yerleştirme sistemi ile giren öğrencilerin özel yetenek sınavı ile giren öğrencilere göre sportif geçmiş, sportif bilgi, sportif donanım ve spora olan ilgi açısından geride oldukları, derse devam ve genel not ortalaması açısından ise daha önde olmaları beklenirken, aynı seviyede oldukları ve sporun fiziksel ve sağlık faydalarını daha az, çok yönlü faydalarını ise daha fazla algılayabildikleri görülmektedir. Sonuç olarak, spor yöneticiliği bölümlerine yalnızca bilişsel değerlendirmeler yapan merkezi sınavlar aracılığı ile öğrenci alınmasının doğru olmadığı söylenebilir.

The aim of this research is to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of being prepared and preparing the students for central exams with distance education according to the perceptions of teachers and students. The research was carried out in the phenomenology (phenomenology) pattern, one of the qualitative research designs. The study groups of the research consisted of 15 teachers working in different types of high schools in the central districts of Kahramanmaraş province in the 2020-2021 academic year and preparing students for the Higher Education Institutions Examinations with distance education and 91 students preparing for the same exam. In the study, semi-structured interview form and open-ended questionnaire form developed by the researchers were used to collect data. Data collection was carried out in 9 different high schools in four months. Content analysis was used to analyze the obtained data. In the research, it has been concluded that preparing students for central exams with distance education provides advantages to the teacher in many respects; eliminating waste of time, providing material diversity, providing equality of opportunity and opportunity, and facilitating the solution of questions. In addition, it has been concluded that preparing students for central exams with distance education offers advantages in terms of leaving more time to prepare for the exam, not interrupting the study, being suitable for individual differences, less stress, being suitable for self-directed learning, providing a comfortable working environment and providing a richness of content. According to the results of the research, it can be ensured that the digital content that students and teachers can use in distance education can be enriched and students can benefit from guidance services more effectively.

Central exams and adult skills: Evidence from PIAAC

İki ya da daha fazla sözcüğün belirli sınırlılık ve düzen içerisinde sürekli birlikte kullanılmaları biçiminde tanımlanan eşdizimlilik dilde çok kullanılan ve önemli bir yere sahip olan yapılarıdır. Bu tür ifadelerin öğrenimi ve öğretimi dilin en ince ayrıntısına kadar öğrenilebilmesine katkı sağlayacaktır. Bu nedenle de çeviri ve metinlerin anlaşılması başta olmak üzere ifadelerin doğru bir şekilde anlaşılmasında bu yapıların bilinmesi gerekmektedir. Dil öğretiminin ayrılmaz bir parçası olan bu yapılar öğretimin bütün aşamalarında yer aldığı gibi ölçme ve değerlendirmede ölçülecek kazanımlar arasında da bulunmaktadır. Ülkemizde Öğrenci Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi (ÖSYM) tarafından Arapça yeterliliği ölçen merkezi sınavlar yapılmaktadır. Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı Arapça Yabancı Dil Testi (YDT) kurumun Arapça dil yeterliliğini ölçmek amacı ile yaptığı sınavlarından biridir. Arapça öğretimi yapan yükseköğretim kurumlarına yerleştirme için yapılan bu sınavda da eşdizim yapılarının kazanımının ölçülmesini sağlayacak sorulara yer vermiştir. Bu soruların bir kısmında yapılar doğrudan sorulduğu gibi farklı soru tiplerinin anlaşılması bağlamındaki ifadelerde yine bu yapılara yer verilmiştir. Çalışmada eşdizimsel yapıların ölçme ve değerlendirme süreçlerindeki önemi, merkezi bir sınav olan Arapça Yabancı Dil Testi ile sınırlandırılarak betimsel içerik analizi ile ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. 2018-2021 yılları arasındaki Arapça Yabancı Dil Testi (YDT) sınav soruları ve yayımlanan 2018 örnek test soruları olmak üzere 5 sınav incelenmiştir. Çalışmada sınavlardaki sorularda yer alan eşdizimsel ifadeler gruplanarak verilirken yapıların hangi şekil ve sıklıkla sorulduğunu tespit edebilmek için 2021 Arapça Dil Testinin ayrıntılı soru analizine yer verilmiştir.

There is much that can be said about the competences of teachers and students needed to learn ICT and Multimedia in the Physics curriculum. The same applies to the teaching and assessment of those competences. Essentially, we are concerned with the goals of the education and the goals of the assessment. If we are concerned with the process of learning, formative assessment is appropriate, but if we want to know what has been learnt, summative assessment, using assignments with scoring instructions is better. In the Netherlands we have a context-based exam curriculum in which specific contexts have been prescribed since the 80s. So, schoolbooks, and as a result of that, most of the Physics lessons are context-based as well. Because of the principle “test what you teach”, all exam questions are context-based too. With the help of ICT (data acquisition, video-analysis modelling, data-analysis or a simulation program) a lot of problems on several subjects are becoming more clear. Teachers and students can use software like COACH for doing measurements on film fragments and modelling the results. In the COMPEX project in the Netherlands, working over 3 levels corresponding to lower vocational, higher vocational and pre-university education, we used Applets, Excel, Data processing, video measurements and modeling in the tests. Because the students used the same software in their lessons, they had the skills to use the software. The questions and answers were on paper. The purpose of the project was to assess the skills competences they learned in the physics lessons.

Abstract In this study, a student-based placement model using the A* algorithm is proposed and applied to solve the problem of placing the courses in exam sessions. The application area of the model is midterm and final exams, conducted by the Open Education Faculty. The reason for choosing open education exams for the practice is that the exams are applied across the country and more than 100,000 students participate. The main problem is to obtain a suitable distribution that can satisfy many constraints simultaneously. In the current system, the lessons in the sessions were placed once using the curriculum knowledge. This placement plan is applied in all exams. When the placement is done according to the curriculum information, the courses in the sessions cannot be placed effectively and efficiently due to a large number of common courses and the large number of students taking the exam. This makes the booklets more expensive and the organization more prone to errors. Both the opening of new programs and the increase in the number of students regularly lead to the necessity of placing the classes in sessions dynamically each semester. In addition, to prevent conflicts with the calendars of other central exams, it is necessary to conduct all exams in three sessions. A better solution was obtained by using a different model than the currently used model in the study. With this solution, distribution of the courses of successful students with few courses to all sessions is provided, and difficult courses of unsuccessful students who have a large number of courses were gathered in the same session. This study can support future studies on two issues: the first issue is the approach of using the course that will be taken by most students instead of the courses taught in most departments in the selection of the course to be placed in the booklet. The second issue is to try to find the most suitable solution by performing performance tests on many algorithms whose performance has been determined by many academic studies.