Extensive Academic Grouping at The Secondary School Placement and Reproduction of Inequalities

According to secondary school placement system (TEOG) between 2013 and 2017, all incoming high school students in Turkey were placed in a high school based on their TEOG exam scores. This placement system became an example of extensive academic grouping. This qualitative study explores the consequences of TEOG-based placement of students, in which students and therefore schools are ranked according to students' test scores. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 149 participants selected among students, teachers, and school administrators through stratified purposive sampling. The findings of this study suggest that overall school climate, perceptions towards the school, motivations of students and teachers, learning opportunities presented in the school, and therefore, the overall quality of the education differs largely based on the achievement levels of schools that are identified by TEOG scores of the incoming students. Furthermore, there are strong evidences that TEOG-based placements group students not only based on their academic success but also on their socio-economic backgrounds. Accordingly, students with low socio-economic backgrounds are overrepresented in schools labeled as low and mid-achieving.