An Analysis of the 2011-LYS Geography Questions In Terms of the Item Difficulty and Misconception

Abstract

This study has been conducted to evaluate the geography questions asked in the Undergraduate Placement Exam (known as “LYS” in Turkish) of Student Selection and Placement System (known as “ÖSYM” in Turkish) in terms of their content and difficulty level. In this research, the questions asked in LYS-3 and LYS4 have been used as materials. Population of the study is the geography teacher candidates. 34 students from the Department of Geography Education, the Department of Social Studies in Secondary Education in Konya Necmettin Erbakan University constitute the sample of the research. Questions have been analyzed in terms of item difficulty and the misconceptions of the students have been identified. In addition, it has been dwelled on the suitability of the distribution of questions and geography curriculum in secondary education. As a result, it has been tried to reveal which information and skills are needed in order to solve the LYS geography questions. The results of some gains such as ‘spatial values symbolizing the Turkey’ and ‘analyzing the impact of tourism activities in Turkey’ show that students have difficulty in higher-level cognitive questions requiring inference and interpretation. In this context, some suggestions have been made to make up these deficiencies.