Performance Difference Between Schools in Türkiye Continues Above the OECD Average
Quick Look
- According to the PISA 2025 First Look Report prepared by TEDMEM, the performance gap between schools in Türkiye continues to be above the OECD average in science, mathematics and reading.
- While the highest score increase is seen in multi-programmed Anatolian high schools, Anatolian imam hatip and vocational high schools remain below the average.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Türkiye's PISA results have been criticized for years regarding differences between schools. The report shows that these differences are even greater in certain types of schools.
According to the "PISA 2025 First Look Report" prepared by TEDMEM, the think tank of the Turkish Education Association (TED), Turkey continues to be one of the countries with the highest performance gap between schools.
The analysis made on this subject in the report is as follows: “PISA 2025 results show that the performance differences between schools in Turkey are significantly higher than the OECD average.
In all areas of science, mathematics and reading, between-school variance is above the OECD average. While the variance between schools in Turkey is 50.1 percent in science, 67.5 percent in mathematics, and 41.6 percent in reading, the OECD averages are 31.3 percent, 32.8 percent and 30.1 percent, respectively.
ONE IN 10 COUNTRIES
Türkiye is one of 10 countries where inter-school differences in science performance account for at least half of the total variance. In mathematics, it is one of only five countries where the between-school variance is above 65 percent.
The inter-school variance in computational problem solving is above the OECD average with 26.6 percent in Turkey. These findings indicate that the academic performance of students in Turkey varies strongly depending on the school they attend.
While Türkiye has strongly increased its average performance in science, mathematics and reading, it still maintains a structure in which students' achievement levels are highly differentiated between schools.
"Although the increase in average scores is positive in terms of general performance, the high differences between schools show that this progress should be considered together with the dimension of equality in education."
WHICH SCHOOL HAS THE HIGHEST INCREASE?
According to the report, the highest score increase in PISA 2025 compared to 2022 is seen in multi-programmed Anatolian high schools. In this type of school, science scores increased by 78 points, mathematics scores increased by 68 points, and reading scores increased by 72 points between 2022 and 2025.
Science high schools and social sciences high schools differ significantly from other school types in all three areas.
While Anatolian high schools and multi-program Anatolian high schools are above the Turkish average in science, mathematics and reading, it is seen that the average scores of Anatolian religious high schools, Anatolian fine arts high schools, sports high schools and vocational and technical Anatolian high schools are below the Turkish average in all areas.
The difference between the school types with the highest and lowest averages reaches 182 points in science, 206 points in mathematics and 165 points in reading. Especially in mathematics, the difference exceeding 200 points reveals the extent of the performance gap between school types.
Open Questions
- What are the root causes of differences between schools?
- How effective are support mechanisms in low-performing schools?
- How do these differences affect social equality in the long run?
