Middle school science and items of high school entrance examination: Examining the Gap in Turkey

Abstract

This study presents findings from an analysis of the Turkish Science and Technology Curriculum Guidelines and their alignment to the university entrance examination. The analysis of the Science and Technology Curriculum focused on various related aspects: content areas and learning outcomes in terms of scientific process skills, science technology society and environment, attitudes and values, and cognitive objectives. The level determination examination (LDE) questions, which would allow for enrollment at elite high schools and would inevitably affect middle school students' university choices, were analyzed in an alignment study regarding the contents of the science and technology program. In order to investigate the relationship between high school science teaching and high school entrance examination, all relevant documents were analyzed by ten science teachers, who have been teaching science and technology courses at middle schools and are concurrently doctoral students at the science education department. The results indicated that the LDE questions and standards were not fully aligned because the first two alignment criteria have a high consistency while a range of knowledge and balance of representation criteria have a low consistency.