Türkiye social studies textbooks and solo taxonomy: An evaluation on measurement and assessment situations

In this study, four Türkiye textbooks used in the 2024-2025 academic year by the “Ministry of National Education, Türkiye” at the primary and secondary school levels “, 4th Grade Social Studies Textbook, 5th Grade Social Studies Textbook, 6th Grade Social Studies Textbook, and 7th Grade Social Studies Textbook” were examined. The research aimed to determine the levels of measurement and assessment questions in “4-7th-grade social studies textbooks” based on the SOLO Taxonomy. The study utilised document analysis as a qualitative research method. The data obtained were analysed using the descriptive analysis method. According to the overall findings of the study, the questions that most commonly aligned with the “Unistructural” level of the SOLO Taxonomy were identified, whereas the “Extended Abstract” level was found to have the fewest questions. Subsequently, questions corresponding to the "Relational” level and “Multistructural” level were identified. The textbooks collectively contained 620 measurement and assessment questions. The most frequently represented levels in the textbooks were identified as follows: In the 4th-grade textbook, 78 questions corresponded to the “Unistructural level.” In the “5th-grade social studies textbook,” 31 questions corresponded to the “Relational” level. In the 6th-grade textbook, 89 questions corresponded to the “Unistructural” level. In the 7th-grade textbook, 77 questions corresponded to the “Relational” level. The findings revealed that, as grade levels increased, there was no change in the epistemic level of measurement and assessment questions. However, it was observed that the 7th and 5th-grade textbooks included more questions that aligned with higher-order epistemic skills and the level of the SOLO Taxonomy.