A Thematic and Critical Analysis of YDS (Foreign Language Exam) Reading Passages in Türkiye (2013-2023)

YDS (Foreign Language Exam) is a standardized written test administered in Turkey to assess the foreign language proficiency of individuals for academic, professional, and governmental purposes. As a centrally conducted examination, the questions are generally designed to evaluate number of competencies. While the exam has faced criticism for failing to assess key language skills, such as listening and speaking, a less frequently addressed issue is the unequal and biased representation of subject matter within the reading comprehension sections. This study aims to analyze the content of paragraph-based questions to identify predominant discourse topics and examine their distribution across individual subjects. A total of 110 reading comprehension passages from YDS exams conducted between 2013 and 2023 were analyzed. The findings reveal a systematic overrepresentation of certain topics and a notable underrepresentation of others. There is also a tendency to present certain discourse topics from a single perspective, even though they are contentious issues. The results of this study can provide valuable insights for test developers and policymakers seeking to ensure a more balanced and equitable distribution of content in future assessments. It also contributes to the understanding of ideological and biased representations that are inherent in the processes of language test production and assessment.