Research on the results of secondary school physics education of Generation Z in the Czech Republic

Abstract

There are no uniform exit tests in physics at the end of secondary school studies in the Czech Republic to give a picture of what students take away from their physics studies. Therefore, we decided to take advantage of the fact that in 1995 the Czech Republic participated in the TIMSS international survey of learning outcomes in mathematics and science, in which for the first and also the last time secondary school students were tested, including those who had taken more demanding mathematics and physics courses. The specialised physics 90-minute test was then taken by students in the final year of four-year gymnasiums in the Czech Republic. This particular physics test was administered to current gymnasium students. Gymnasium students represent the population of secondary school students who have physics instruction listed as a compulsory part of their education in the Framework Educational Programmes. Therefore, these respondents can provide very valuable information about what students take away from studying physics in primary and secondary school. The paper describes ongoing research, its methodology and how the data were collected.