A recent experiment in Turkey has raised concerns about the national university entrance exam. Three journalists from a Turkish newspaper entered the 2026 YKS exam. They did not read a single question on the test. Instead, they marked their answers in a repeating pattern of A, B, C, D, and E. The results surprised many people across the country.
One journalist got 35 correct and 85 incorrect answers on the basic test. Despite this poor result, she ranked ahead of 685,000 other candidates. Based on previous years' data, she qualified for 41 undergraduate departments. She also qualified for 703 associate degree programmes. Another journalist scored higher than 391,000 candidates using the same method.
The exam uses a negative marking system to discourage random guessing. Four incorrect answers cancel out one correct answer on the test. However, the experiment demonstrated that this penalty was not sufficient. Approximately 67,000 candidates scored zero on the 2026 exam. The average number of correct mathematics answers was only 6.8 out of 40.
This experiment has sparked a widespread debate about standardised testing in Turkey. Critics argue that the scoring system needs significant reform. If the placement system were more carefully designed, random answers would not produce meaningful results. The incident highlights broader questions about how fairly large-scale examinations measure true academic ability.
