Evaluation of 2018–2024 AYT Mathematics problems according to MATH taxonomy

With the change in primary and secondary education curricula in 2018, both the name and content of the high school and university entrance exams have changed. Instead of the two-stage exams of Transition to Higher Education Exam (YGS) and Undergraduate Placement Exam (LYS), two-stage exams called Basic Proficiency Test (TYT) and Field Proficiency Test (AYT) have been organized under the name of Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) since 2018. Not only the names of the exams but also their contents have changed, and the weights of the questions measuring the students' higher-level thinking skills have increased. It is possible to determine whether the new curriculum that has been implemented has achieved its purpose and to examine its deficiencies, if any, through the measurement and evaluation process. It is important to conduct a content analysis of the AYT Mathematics exam questions implemented since 2018 and to question the level of knowledge and skills targeted to be acquired by students in the curriculum. The aim of this study is to analyze the questions in the AYT mathematics test between 2018-2024 according to the MATH Taxonomy. This study was conducted through document review, one of the qualitative research methods. Within the scope of the research, AYT (Field Proficiency Test) mathematics exam questions developed by ÖSYM (Student Selection and Placement Center) between 2018-2024 were examined. The obtained data were analyzed descriptively with a qualitative approach. MATH Taxonomy developed by Smith et al. (1996) was used as an analysis framework in the analysis of the data. The analysis results are presented in the findings section with tables, figures and graphs. According to the results obtained in the research, it was determined that the most questions were asked in the B1 category, which is the Knowledge Transfer category of the MATH Taxonomy in the AYT mathematics exam between 2018-2024. It was found that no questions were asked from A1, which is the Information and Information System category, and very few questions were asked from C3, which is the evaluation category. According to this research, it is recommended that the number of questions to be asked from all groups of the MATH Taxonomy in the tests be more balanced in order to ensure that students have an effective and comprehensive learning experience.