Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students

Akın Aykut Konakcı; Behzat Bektaşlı

doi:10.63612/ijesp.1891150

Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students

Abstract

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable achievement test for astronomy topics incorporated into the 5th and 6th-grade science curriculum, specifically aligned with the Türkiye Century Education Model. This study employed a quantitative research design within the framework of instrument development and validation. Data were collected during the 2025–2026 academic year from a sample of 422 middle school students across three different districts in Türkiye. To ensure content validity, a specification table was developed and validated through expert review. Subsequently, item difficulty indices, upper-lower group mean comparisons, and item–total correlation analyses were performed. The internal consistency of the test, as measured by the KR-20 coefficient, was .859. Corrected item–total correlations ranged from .294 to .484, demonstrating that the items possess a satisfactory level of discriminative power. The finalized Astronomy Achievement Test (AAT), comprising 28 items, stands as a valid and reliable assessment tool that addresses a significant gap in the national science education literature and provides a contemporary framework for astronomy education.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

None.

Project Number

None.

Ethical Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with ethical research principles. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Hacettepe University, Graduate School of Educational Sciences (Decision Date: 11 June 2025; Document No.: E-51944218-050-00004300024). Additionally, research implementation permission was granted by the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE) (Application No.: MEB.TT.2025.028318.01). The study was conducted between 12 August 2025 and 12 August 2026 in designated public middle schools in Sakarya Province, Türkiye. All procedures involving human participants were carried out in compliance with institutional and national research standards.

Thanks

The authors thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Behzat Bektaşlı for academic guidance.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Scale Development

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Akın Aykut Konakcı ^*
0000-0001-7987-4904
Türkiye

Behzat Bektaşlı
0000-0002-5789-758X
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

April 14, 2026

Publication Date

May 12, 2026

Submission Date

February 17, 2026

Acceptance Date

April 9, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 7 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1891150

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA68SS78YP

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Konakcı, A. A., & Bektaşlı, B. (2026). Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy, 7(2), 170-192. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1891150

AMA

1.Konakcı AA, Bektaşlı B. Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students. IJESP. 2026;7(2):170-192. doi:10.63612/ijesp.1891150

Chicago

Konakcı, Akın Aykut, and Behzat Bektaşlı. 2026. “Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy 7 (2): 170-92. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1891150.

EndNote

Konakcı AA, Bektaşlı B (May 1, 2026) Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy 7 2 170–192.

IEEE

[1]A. A. Konakcı and B. Bektaşlı, “Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students”, IJESP, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 170–192, May 2026, doi: 10.63612/ijesp.1891150.

ISNAD

Konakcı, Akın Aykut - Bektaşlı, Behzat. “Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy 7/2 (May 1, 2026): 170-192. https://doi.org/10.63612/ijesp.1891150.

JAMA

1.Konakcı AA, Bektaşlı B. Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students. IJESP. 2026;7:170–192.

MLA

Konakcı, Akın Aykut, and Behzat Bektaşlı. “Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students”. International Journal of Educational Studies and Policy, vol. 7, no. 2, May 2026, pp. 170-92, doi:10.63612/ijesp.1891150.

Vancouver

1.Akın Aykut Konakcı, Behzat Bektaşlı. Development of an Astronomy Achievement Test for Middle School Students. IJESP. 2026 May 1;7(2):170-92. doi:10.63612/ijesp.1891150