Evaluating secondary school students’ science literacy with the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS)

Abstract

As solutions to today’s global challenges, such as climate change and environmental protection, will increasingly depend on technological and scientific innovation, it is essential for Generation Z to gain a solid foundation in science. The Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) was used to assess the level of science literacy of students. This paper presents the results of the TOSLS testing of students aged 16-19 in several grammar schools in the Czech Republic in 2023 and compares them with the results of the TOSLS testing of students in the Slovak Republic in 2015. We found that Czech students in their final year of high school performed statistically significantly better on the TOSLS test in approximately two thirds of the items than Slovak students. For both groups of students, we observed good results in skills focused on evaluating scientific information, reading and interpreting graphical representations of data, and solving problems using quantitative skills, including basic statistical skills. On the contrary, the students had difficulty with skills related to understanding the elements of research design and their impact on scientific findings and understanding and interpreting basic statistical data.