ABSTRACT
Accepting students to higher education institutions is generally performed via central arrangement by The Higher Education Council (YÖK)..However, students are accepted to such colleges as fine art faculties,conservatories,various sports colleges, teacher’s training departments of arts and crafts, and music departments in Letters Faculties via special aptitude tests.These schools accept students to their special aptitude tests according to students’ first-stage scores after Student Determining Test (SDT-OSS). Related faculties or departments in each university arrange these axaminations themselves.Directions in a university on how to perform these tests are also prepared by the universities themselves.Occasionally there exist several differences related to the directions. Therefore, test results could lead to controversies among universities as for all aspects. This study aimes at enlightening the controversies, as well as determining how the tests are being performed.
The study investigates the special aptitude tests performed in The Teacher’s Training Department of Arts and Crafts of Ahmet Kelesoglu Letters Faculty, Selcuk University, and The Teacher’s Training Department of Arts and Crafts of Letters Faculty, Fırat University during 2008-2009 Academic Year. The topic also includes applications carried out in other universities in addition to the procedures involving the students winning the tests of both so-called universities.
. The study is based on questionnaries, scanning of the literature and the investigation the documents on the tests.Questionnaries include the periods the students prepared for the tests.From both universities,totally 178 students,43 boys and 135 girls, were enrolled into the study.In scanning the literature, previous thesis and articles written and performed in this field, related directions and statements in mass media instruments were taken into account.However, the investigations on test documents were performed on the drawings of the designings by the students during the undergraduate periods. The assessments by the lecturers in The Teacher’s Training Department of Arts and Crafts of Ahmet Kelesoglu Letters Faculty, Selcuk University were found out through interviews in order to determine whether the tests were satisfactory or not.
Accumulated data indicate that students pass through a preparation course before the tets. Secondary and high school education periods were determined to be insufficient alone.Therefore, the accuracy of the tests in order to assess the skills of the students could not be obtained obviously. It was observed that the source of speculations on test results were mainly related to course centers. It was also determined that students failing the tests and those using illegal routes to win the tests speculated on the objectivity of the results.Another fact drawing attention was that most of the students won the tests as their first choice.
As a conclusion, several suggestions were put forward to solve the problems encountered in the tests.
Key Words:Special Aptitude Tests, Design, Training, Art Training, Training System