Student Assessment

Assessment and evaluation are both integral components of instruction and processes that complement and complete teaching. During the implementation of a curriculum, it is essential to monitor students’ progress at each stage and to assess whether the intended learning outcomes are being achieved. Assessment and evaluation activities not only measure students’ levels of knowledge and skills but also provide insights into learning deficiencies and tendencies. Therefore, these activities should be planned and implemented in a constructive, feedback-oriented, and skills-focused manner that maximally supports the instructional process. In primary education institutions, the measurement and evaluation of student achievement is carried out based on a process-oriented approach. Under the Centruy of Türkiye Education Model (TYMM), emphasis has been placed on the use of formative assessment tools to improve learning and ensure continuity. In this context, student portfolios, projects, performance tasks, presentations, checklists, exams, observation and interview forms, student surveys, role-playing, group work, rating scales, graduate surveys, classroom discussions, self/ peer/group assessments, and reflective writing are used to evaluate and enhance student performance.

Starting from the 2024–2025 academic year, a developmental report, including teacher feedback, will be gradually introduced for first-grade students at the end of each semester. This report will cover students’ behaviour, participation in lessons, involvement in extracurricular activities, attendance, and developmental progress. Until the transition is fully completed, traditional report cards will continue to be issued for other primary school grades.

In lower secondary schools and imam hatip lower secondary schools, report cards are issued at the end of each semester based on data from e-Okul system. These report cards display students’ academic achievement, participation in extracurricular activities, and attendance records. Grades are determined based on score charts available in the e-Okul system at the end of the first and second semesters. In these schools, semester grades, end-of-year grades, and cumulative success grades are calculated on a scale of 100. A score below 50.00 is considered unsuccessful, and 50.00 or above is considered successful in all subjects except for Turkish. For Turkish, scores below 70.00 are deemed unsuccessful, while scores of 70.00 and above are considered successful.

In lower secondary and imam hatip lower secondary schools, students are required to complete at least one project, either individually or in groups, under the guidance of a teacher. These projects may be assigned in any subject chosen by the student. Guidance and social activity courses are not graded. Assessment and evaluation practices in pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, and imam hatip secondary schools are regulated by the MoNE Assessment and Evaluation Regulation. 

Monitoring Student Progress

In primary schools, it is essential that students do not repeat a grade. However, if students do not reach the desired level of competence, the school administration must inform their parents about the possibility of grade repetition in May, via written notice, email, or SMS. Based on this notification, the parents can request grade repetition by submitting a written application to the school administration one week before the end of the school year. A student can only repeat a grade once during their primary education. Students who have not attended school at all or whose development report does not include information on all subjects, as well as students who have not attended school for at least one term except for reasons specified in Article 27, Paragraph 5 of this Regulation, will repeat the grade.

Decisions on whether a student will pass to the next grade or repeat a grade due to academic performance such as unexcused absences for 20 days, having a year-end grade below 70 in Turkish, or below 50 in any other subject will be made during the class teachers’ board meeting in the last week of the second term. Students who are unable to attend school due to health reasons are not required to meet the attendance obligation for that academic year. Students receiving full-time integration or special education, as well as those attending special education classes, will not be required to repeat a grade due to academic failure. However, based on the written request of the parents and the decision of the Individualized Education Program Development Unit, students in full-time integration or special education classes may be required to repeat a grade once.

For students in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades who demonstrate higher than expected knowledge and skills, they may be given an advancement exam during the first month of the academic year, based on the written request of the parents and the teacher’s recommendation. Successful students will be promoted to the next grade. According to the Ministry of National Education’s Pre-Primary and Primary Education Institutions Regulation, in cases of extraordinary conditions that would disrupt teaching and learning, schools may temporarily suspend educational activities. In such cases, necessary measures will be taken by school administrations and provincial/district education directorates to make up for the missed classess.

Certification

Students progress from primary to secondary education without an exam. Upon completion of primary school, they receive an education certificate and are automatically enrolled in secondary school through the e-Okul system, based on their registered residential address. Imam Hatip Lower Secondary Schools may hold entrance exams if the number of applicants exceeds available seats.