Ministry implements open-ended questions in nationwide exams

ANKARA

The Education Ministry has announced plans to introduce open-ended questions in nationwide joint exams, marking a departure from the traditional multiple-choice format.

The move aims to offer more comprehensive insights into student learning and ensure consistency across schools, according to Kemal Bülbül, the ministry's director overseeing exams.

Scheduled for March 26 and 27, the upcoming written exams will employ open-ended questions for the first time.

"We have transitioned to an open-ended question system to facilitate more accurate assessments," Bülbül stated. "In both middle and high schools, all exams prepared by teachers will now feature open-ended or short-answer questions."

Previously, exams in the first semester of the academic year relied entirely on multiple-choice questions.

Under the ministry's decision, joint exams will cover sixth-grade Turkish and mathematics courses in middle school, as well as first-grade Turkish language and literature and mathematics courses in high school, on a nationwide scale.

Bülbül confirmed that questions for the joint written exams are being crafted by field experts within the ministry. Moreover, teachers tasked with evaluating open-ended responses will undergo specialized training to ensure consistency in scoring, he elaborated.

Each answer will be assessed by two independent scorers, with any disparities addressed by a senior scorer to minimize errors in the evaluation process.

"This way, there will be no margin for error in the scoring process," he said.

The exam results will be processed through the ministry's online system for school administration, dubbed e-Okul, by the respective course teachers, Bülbül added.

The ministry oversees primary, middle and high school education throughout the country, while the Higher Education Council (YÖK) serves as the central state supervisory body for Turkish universities, maintaining authority over higher education institutions across the nation.