AI Takes Turkey's University Entrance Exam, Makes 11 Errors, Struggles with Math
Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- An artificial intelligence model named Gemini took Turkey's university entrance exam (YKS) and made 11 errors, particularly struggling with the mathematics section.
- Another AI model, Claude, was described as slow to respond.
- AI's performance on the YKS has improved significantly year over year, with its net score increasing from 124.25 in 2024 to 266.25 in 2026.
An artificial intelligence model has taken Turkey's highly competitive 2026 Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), achieving a score that, while impressive, highlights areas for improvement, particularly in mathematics. The AI, identified as Gemini, made a total of 11 incorrect answers across the exam's various sections.
Professor Dr. Behรงet Yalฤฑn รzkara, known online as "akademiklink," conducted the experiment, feeding the YKS questions to different AI models. He noted that the Claude model was "quite sluggish" and slow to respond during the process. Gemini's performance was then analyzed in detail.
Gemini made a total of 11 incorrect answers.
Gemini's errors were distributed as follows: one mistake in the Basic Proficiency Test (TYT) Turkish language section, one in Social Sciences, and five in Mathematics. Notably, it answered all questions correctly in the Science section of the TYT. In the Field Proficiency Tests (AYT), Gemini scored perfectly in Turkish Language and Literature, Social Sciences-1, and Mathematics, but made four errors in the Science section.
Professor รzkara also shared comparative data on AI's performance in previous YKS exams. The data reveals a significant upward trend in AI's capabilities. In 2024, the AI achieved a net score of 124.25. This increased to 197.5 net in 2025. In the 2026 exam, the AI demonstrated a marked improvement, reaching a total net score of 266.25, indicating a consistent enhancement in its problem-solving abilities with advancing technology.
Claude behaved quite sluggishly in this process and responded late to the questions.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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