Turkey is expected to be a full member of the European Union (EU) by 2013. In
the course of its integration into the EU, Turkey has been simultaneously facing access,
quality, and equity issues in education. Over the past decade, substantial progress has
been made on increasing the access. However, improving the country’s low level of
education quality and achieving equity in quality education across the regions continue to
be a monumental challenge in Turkey. Most recently, results from the Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 indicated that Turkey’s
educational achievement at the eighth grade, the end of compulsory primary education in
Turkey, was far below that of other countries in the EU. Considering Turkey’s long
standing socioeconomic disparities between the western and eastern parts of the country,
the challenges of improving overall education quality are coupled with the challenges of
achieving equity in learning outcomes for students across the regions.