Costs associated with exams in transition from primary education to secondary education as proportion of total expenditures paid by families

The purpose of this study is to determine the type and amount of expenses paid by the families in the primary schools at Grade 6, 7 and 8; and discern proportion of expenditures associated with exams in transitions from primary education to secondary education as proportion of total expenditures paid by families.The sample of this study is composed of 492 parents from six elementary schools randomly selected from Çankaya and Keçiören districts in Ankara. A questionnaire, ?Expenditures Paid by Families at Grade 6, 7 and 8 in Elementary Schools?, developed by researcher to collect data from parents. Data were analyzed by tabulating different types of expenditures paid by parents and computing proportion of expenditures associated with exams in transitions from primary education to secondary education as proportion of total expenditures paid by families.Results indicated that 75,2% of students at Grade 6, 7 and 8 were attending either private courses or extra-curricular courses offered in the school. At these grade levels, in average families reported to spend 4478,18 YTL per student annually and 3051,05 YTL of this total amount was composed of spending for preparation to exams. When the expenses of families are considered, it is seen that the highest amount is paid for private courses or lessons and private teaching institutions. Finally, results showed that expenses for preparation to exams reached 68% of total educational expenditures by families.Key Words: Cost of primary education, private expenditures in primary education, transition to secondary education.