An Evaluation of Geography Department Students' Average Field Performances in YGS and LYS Tests

Abstract

Higher education rises in importance and it is crucial for a country to develop and provide high-level knowledge. Universities have reached the level of the foundation in creating a knowledge-based society and in gaining the scientific competence for future generations. There are YGS and LYS exams for university entrance after secondary in Turkey. In Turkey, students taking YGS and LYS tests are placed in a department among the departments they have chosen based on their scores. In this way, students have an opportunity to specialize in a field after all the basic knowledge they have acquired in secondary education. The importance of higher education and the number of individuals wishing to receive undergraduate education are gradually increasing in Turkey. This manifests itself in the number of students receiving geography education. One of the purposes of this study is to investigate whether there is a connection between the correct answers given to geography questions and questions on other disciplines in the university entrance exam among the students entering the geography department in university. Quantitative data analysis method used in the study. This study deals with the average field performances of geography department students in YGS and LYS tests. The data taken as basis in the study were extracted from YGS-LYS Net Sihirbazi (YGS-LYS Net Wizard) on the official website of YOK (The Council of Higher Education of Turkey). Based on base points, the top four university geography departments admitting students with the highest scores are geography departments of Ankara University, Marmara University, Istanbul University, and Ege University respectively.