Comparison of mathematics sample scenarios prepared by the ministry of national education with mathematics written exam questions applied by teachers

In this study, a comparative evaluation was conducted by analyzing mathematics sample scenario questions published by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and written exam questions prepared by middle school mathematics teachers within the framework of the Mathematical Assessment Task Hierarchy (MATH) taxonomy. The aim of the research is to identify the cognitive levels targeted by these exam questions and to examine the alignment between teachers' assessment practices and centralized assessment policies. The study employed a document analysis method. A total of 536 questions from the 2023–2025 academic years (201 MoNE sample scenarios and 335 teacher-prepared written questions) were analyzed as units of analysis. The data were coded by three experts and classified according to the eight categories of the MATH taxonomy. The inter-rater agreement was calculated to be 90%. The findings revealed that, in both types of exams, the questions were predominantly concentrated in category A3 – Use of Routine Procedures. This rate was 49.25% in teacher-prepared exams and 39.3% in MoNE scenarios. Questions at level C, which assess higher-order thinking skills—particularly those in category C3 – Evaluation—were entirely absent. Compared to teacher-written exams, MoNE scenarios were more evenly distributed across mid- and high-level categories such as B2 – Adapting to New Situations and C2 – Inference and Comparison. These results indicate that teachers tend to focus on procedurally oriented questions and fall short in assessing students' higher-order thinking skills. It is recommended that teachers be supported in developing questions at various cognitive levels in accordance with the MATH taxonomy, and that centralized materials be used as exemplary resources in this regard.