Deputy Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer wrote about the transformation of the high school placement system for a newspaper. Özer said, “We aim to place at least 2021% of the students who are placed without an examination in 60 and at least 2022% in 70 in the high school which is in their first preference. As they reach these goals, most of the students will be able to settle into the high schools they want more easily without taking the exam. " said.
Ozer post of National Education Deputy Minister Mahmoud said: "between the stages in the education system in Turkey has long discussions are continuing on. The Ministry of National Education has taken various steps to bring the school to the center in recent years and has tried various systems for transition to high schools. Finally, the High School Transition System (LGS), which was put into practice in 2018, ended the obligation for all students to take the central exam in order to relieve the pressure on students, and allowed two different placements as central and local placements during the transition to secondary education institutions. In other words, about 90% of the students are placed without the central examination requirement; The rest are aimed to be placed with the central exam score. Thus, while the central placement is done with the central exam score, it is done according to the school success score on the basis of the registration area without the local placement exam score.
All of the Science High Schools, Social Sciences High Schools and Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools applying the Anatolian technical program and Anatolian imam hatip and Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools included in the project school are placed with exam points. On the other hand, local placements are made to Anatolian, Anatolian imam hatip and vocational and technical Anatolian high schools, which are not within the scope of the project. This article is based on data over the three years of the placement process under LGS.
The process is constantly improved
One of the biggest problems in placement under the 2018 LGS was the placement criteria. Presence in secondary school and order of preference were the criteria that took place before the school success score. This ranking of criteria caused students with high school achievement scores not to be placed in schools where students with a low school achievement score but who have been in the school for a longer time or who preferred higher rank were placed. On the other hand, the application of the school success score in the form of segments such as 80-100 instead of the single success score prevented the functional use of the school achievement score. As a result, while the dissatisfaction of the students and parents increased in the 2018 placements, the complaints about the placement gradually increased. In order to eliminate these problems and improve the process, local placement criteria without examination were updated in 2019. Presence and preference order in secondary schools were excluded from the criteria. The local placement without examination was made according to the criteria of the residence addresses of the students, the superiority of the school success score and the low number of days with unexcused absence from the school. In case of equality in these three criteria, the placement was made by looking at the end-year success score in 8th, 7th and 6th grades, respectively. In considering the school success score, success slots application was terminated and whatever the student's score was, that score was taken into account. The calculated school success scores were considered as four digits after the comma.
As a new application in the Ministry of National Education, Education Analysis and Evaluation Reports Series started to be published as of the end of 2018. In this context, evaluation reports regarding exams are of great importance, and detailed analyzes of exams are shared with the public in a transparent manner based on data. This has a very important function for the Ministry in terms of both accountability and detection of deficiencies and therefore improving processes. For example, in the report prepared for the central examination for transition to secondary education institutions in 2018, extension of the time was proposed in the second session in the numerical field, according to the findings.
Considering this recommendation, the time in this session was extended by 2019 minutes in 20. On the other hand, a sample question booklet was published every month to guide students in preparing for the exam. As a result, the students did not encounter any surprises in the exam. The exam, which was held in two sessions on June 1, 2019, was held in 953 exam centers in our provinces and districts and 15 in 968 exam centers abroad. A total of 3 thousand 769 exam buildings and 63 thousand 085 exam halls were used in the exam. Both sessions of the exam were completed without any problems. No questions were canceled after the exam. The fact that an exam on this scale was carried out smoothly and that no problems were canceled made a significant contribution to the successful completion of the process and the perception to turn positive.
The most critical issue in placement without an examination is the creation of recording areas on a rational basis to meet the supply-demand balance. For this purpose, considering the problems encountered in 2018, the entire process was carried out with the participation and contribution of the provincial directors. First of all, the capacities of all high schools were determined on site and the QR code was created and entered in the geographic information system. Thus, detailed information about all high schools was digitized and made available to provincial directors. Provincial directors restructured their registration areas using this digital platform and made them ready for 2019 placement.
Covid-19 measures
On the other hand, there were two major problems in front of the central exam within the scope of 2020 LGS. The first was the significant increase in the number of 2020th grade students in 8 compared to 2019. In this context, preparations started much earlier than 2019. The whole process was discussed with the participation of all relevant units of the Ministry and 81 provincial directors. The conditions of each province were evaluated separately and in detail, and capacity production was achieved in accordance with the new conditions. The first priority in capacity generation was to build sufficient capacity for all students in high schools without examination. In this context, the existing school investments were re-evaluated and the needed transformations in school types were achieved according to the needs. At the end of the months-long work, the capacity building studies required for the types of high schools that will be settled with or without examination have been successfully completed. In 2019, at least one Anatolian High School, which accepts students by exam, was opened in 21 provinces where there are no Anatolian High Schools that accepted students with an exam, and access to schools with exams was increased in 81 cities. In addition, the number of school preferences that accepted students through an exam in 2020 was increased from five to ten.
Another very important problem with the test was that the exam was held under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, process improvements were made. First of all, since there was no face-to-face education in the second term schools, the scope of the exam was limited to only the first term curriculum of the 8th grade. The sample question booklet published every month in 2019 was published twice a month. In addition, question support packages were published every month to help students prepare for the exam. On the other hand, an improvement was made in the policy of determining the school for the central examination. Within the scope of the fight against the epidemic, it was decided that all students would take an exam in their own schools to reduce the level of anxiety in students and parents. Thus, while 2019 thousand 3 exam buildings were used in the exam in 873, this number was increased by approximately five times to 2020 thousand 18 exam buildings in 139. This increase in the number of exam buildings was also reflected in the number of examiners. While approximately 2019 thousand examiners served in the exam in 150, this number increased to over 2020 thousand in 350. On the other hand, while the necessary disinfection procedures were carried out in the exam buildings, all students and examiners were given free masks. In addition, every precaution was taken to maintain social distance at the entrance to the exam buildings, between exams and at the end of the exam. The exam, in which all measures were meticulously applied, was implemented on 20 June 2020 without any problems. As in 2019, no questions were canceled in 2020.
Guidance services focused on
The most important part of placement in secondary education institutions is the preference stage. Students are placed in their preferred schools according to their placement criteria. However, the Ministry also has to place all students in a high school within the scope of compulsory education. This situation places a heavy responsibility on the docking system. It is of critical importance for students to choose the high schools that best suit their conditions, and therefore make a rational choice. For this reason, the Ministry has attached great importance to the guidance service for preferences in 2019, and comprehensive digital guidance platforms have been established for both the schools that accept students with exams and for local placement without examination. In addition, a separate digital guidance platform has been established for vocational and technical education. In the guidance services provided, a usage capacity of over 2019 million was created in 20. All these figures show how useful the guidance is and how important a gap it is. The same practice was given great weight in 2020. On the other hand, in all provinces, provincial directors successfully managed the process from the beginning to the end, and guidance counselors in schools contributed significantly to the process. The successful execution of the process from the beginning to the end also made the placement results successful.
99 percent occupancy in exam schools
Placement results were announced in 2019 and 2020 together with a detailed evaluation report. The results of the first central placement in 2019 drew a very positive picture. Occupancy rate in schools that admit students through central examination was 99,6%. Despite an increase of approximately 2020 percent in school capacity with exams in 53, the occupancy rate in schools with exams was 2020% in 99,3. The increase over the years in the occupancy rates of vocational and technical Anatolian high schools in school placements with examinations was quite remarkable. Although the quota of vocational and technical Anatolian high schools that accepted students with an exam in 2018 was lower than 2019, the occupancy rate was around 74%, but at the end of 2019, this rate increased to 98%. In 2020, this trend of improvement continued and the number of students who were placed in vocational and technical Anatolian high schools within the scope of the exam school increased by 2019% compared to 64. This improvement trend is a tangible indicator of the success of the steps taken by the Ministry of National Education to strengthen vocational education in the last two years.
92 percent of students who were placed without an examination were placed in one of their top three choices
It is the local placement without examination that determines the actual performance of the placement, as the quota of the schools with exams is relatively low. In 2019 local placements, 91% of students were placed in one of the top three schools of their choice. This rate is a very important data in terms of showing the high level of satisfaction of the students placed. Despite the significant increase in the number of students, this ratio increased to 2020% in local placement in 92. Therefore, these results show concretely that student satisfaction is increasing with the improvements made every year in the LGS system.
On the other hand, 2019% of students in local placement in 52 were placed in schools of their first choice. In 2020, although there was a slight decrease in this ratio due to the increase in the number of students, 49% of the students settled in their first choice. In other words, half of the students were able to settle in the primary schools of their choice in the local placement without examination. This is a striking indicator of the local resettlement and how much the whole process has been improved.
Satisfaction increased
In the local placement without examination, the places of the students who are placed in Anatolian, Anatolian imam hatip and vocational and technical Anatolian high schools in the preferences of the schools they are settled in give details of this satisfaction in terms of school types. In this context, 2019% of the students who settled in Anatolian high schools in 58 settled in an Anatolian high school of their first choice, while 99% settled in an Anatolian high school included in their first three preferences. 2020% of the students who settled in Anatolian high schools in 99, again settled in an Anatolian high school that was among their first three choices.
Similarly, 52% of the students who settled in Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools without an examination were placed in an Anatolian imam hatip high school in their first choice, while 87% settled in an Anatolian hatip high school that was included in their first three preferences. It is seen that this trend continues in 2020 and 87,3% of the students who are placed in Anatolian imam hatip high schools without examination have settled in an Anatolian imam hatip high school which is included in their first three preferences.
40 percent increase in vocational education
In this context, it is seen that the biggest improvement is realized in vocational technical education. In 2019, 41% of the students who settled in vocational and technical Anatolian high schools settled in a vocational and technical Anatolian high school of their first choice, while 79% settled in a vocational and technical Anatolian high school included in their first three preferences. In 2020, it is seen that 43% of the students who are placed in vocational and technical Anatolian high schools are placed in a vocational and technical Anatolian high school in their first choice, while 82% have settled in a vocational and technical Anatolian high school that is included in their first three preferences.
The increase in the rate of students who are placed with and without examination in vocational education is also noteworthy. In this context, it is seen that the number of students who preferred vocational education in 2020 increased by 2019% compared to 40. In this context, when the increases in the number of students placed in each type of school in 2020 compared to 2019 are compared, it is seen that the highest rate of increase is in vocational education. These data show that vocational education is now at the top of students' preferences.
As a result, the process of placement in secondary education institutions within the scope of 2020 LGS has been successfully completed to increase the satisfaction of students and parents. These results also show how important it is to improve the process in the placements in the last three years and to ensure the active participation of all stakeholders throughout the process.
To increase the rate of students placed in the new target first choice
As a result, with the improvements we made in 2019, the LGS system has been settled and working successfully. In 2020, we used the same system with minor improvements and came to a better point. From now on, the focus will be on improvements that can be made to further increase the level of success achieved in the last two years and to increase the satisfaction of students and parents. Our medium and long-term goal is to ensure that a parent can deliver his or her child to a high school close to their home, wherever they live in the country. An important indicator of this is the rate of students who placed in the first choice in placement without examination. In 2020, this rate was 49%. Despite the significant increase in the number of students, one of the two students who were placed without an examination was able to settle in a high school that was included in their first choice. We want to increase this rate every year. For this reason, we aim to place students who are placed in the first choice of at least 2021% in 60 and at least 2022% in 70. As they reach these goals, most of the students will be able to settle into the high schools they want more easily without taking the exam.
On the other hand, we will focus more on policies aimed at closing the achievement gaps between high schools and provide more support to disadvantaged schools. In addition, we will organize compensatory trainings to close the gap between successful and unsuccessful students, especially in basic education, and ensure that all our students come to high school better. "
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