The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge of the basic concepts of the Turkish children. The data were collected from 808 kindergarteners, 1073 first and 1138 second graders, and of these students 20.66 % from low, 37.49 % were from middle and 41.83 % were from high socio-economic level. The knowledge of the children was assessed by using The Boehm Test of Basic Concepts by their teachers and the responses of the children were analyzed according to their grade and socioeconomic levels. Results indicated that, most of the fifty concepts were mastered by 85 % or more of the children, but approximately 50 % of the children did not know several concepts such as first, every, a few, third, pair and half. The knowledge of the concepts of the children differed according to grade level and the socio economic levels. The test scores of the second graders and of the children from high socioeconomic level are significantly higher than the other groups. The results of the study were discussed in terms of the benefits of using concept test such as Boehm by theteachers who work with children with and without learning difficulties in early elementary years.
Key words: knowledge, basic concepts, test, academic success
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