Application of the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills in the Assessment of a General Education Natural Science Program

The peer-reviewed and psychometrically validated Test of Scientific Literacy Skills developed by Gormally et al. was used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a general education natural science program. By comparing the scores of students who had already taken at least one course in this area with the scores of those who had not, and by relating scores to students’ perceptions of learning about science, a richer understanding of our program has emerged. The ability to focus on particular skill sets and areas of proficiency has allowed us to identify specific areas to target for improvement.