Evaluating the Leuven Research Skills Test for 11th and 12th Grade

According to (inter)national policy and curriculum documents, the acquisition of research skills is an important objective of secondary education. However, the conceptualization and hence the operationalization of this concept seems ambiguous. Furthermore, no test exists to assess students' proficiency in (a broad range of) research skills in a 11th- and 12th-grade behavioral sciences classroom context. This article first elaborates on what constitutes research skills in this educational context. Second, the development and testing process of the Leuven Research Skills Test (LRST) is described. Third, the psychometric properties and the dimensional structure of the LRST are presented, based on a large-scale sample (n= 405) of Belgian students in 11th and 12th grade. The results revealed that (a) the LRST is an internal consistent instrument and that (b) a hierarchical model with eight subordinate factors and one single uniting upper level factor appears to be the best fit to the data (in comparison with a unidimensional model and an eight-factor multidimensional model). It is argued that the LRST can be used to assess (individual differences in) overall research skills proficiency and to investigate the effect of particular interventions to foster research skills in future studies.