Turkish adaptation study of the Test of Astronomy Standards (TOAST)

The Turkish adaptation of the Astronomy Standards Test (TOAST) is a study that aims to determine the validity and reliability of TOAST within the context of the Republic of Türkiye. TOAST is a comprehensive assessment tool designed to measure students' general astronomy content knowledge. TOAST is a 27-item, multiple-choice format, criterion-referenced test that measures all of the topics commonly taught in one- or two-term introductory astronomy courses and astronomy concepts explained in international science education standards. The test was originally published in English but it was independently translated to Turkish by translators whose first language is Turkish so that native Turkish-speaking participants can be evaluated using the translated test. After the necessary amendments to the Turkish translations, TOAST was applied to a group of 396 people, most of whom had basic astronomy training, in order to evaluate their understanding of the test items. Following the results obtained from the participants, the test items were revised: first a Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, and then the measurement tool TOAST was made ready for the validity and reliability study. The results of the validity and reliability study, which is a single-factor model of 26 items tailored for Türkiye, were found to be consistent with the results obtained from the single-factor structure of TOAST which is composed of 27 items. With this study, the 26-item Türkiye-specific TOAST measurement tool can be used (1) to detect misconceptions in Astronomy Education research, (2) as an astronomy achievement test in basic astronomy education or courses, (3) at the end of one or two semesters of introductory astronomy courses, and (4) as pre-test and post-test in curriculum and program development. It is also envisioned that this study will shed light on Astronomy education research and studies in Türkiye. Keywords: astronomy education, astronomy standards test, TOAST, scale adaptation, physics education,