Abstract
Scientific literacy assessment is a crucial aspect of science education, yet studies mapping the breadth of its instrument development remain limited. This study maps scientific literacy assessment instrument development, focusing on instrument types and formats, scientific domains, and research gaps. A scoping review was conducted through Scopus and ERIC databases, yielding 707 articles; 12 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed using thematic synthesis. Scientific literacy is bounded here by a multidimensional framework of scientific competence, knowledge, and context, distinguishing it from narrower related constructs such as attitudes toward science or civic/digital scientific literacy. Results show that Likert-scale questionnaires and multiple-choice tests each dominate at 42% of studies. The general science (multi-dimensional) approach accounts for 67% of studies, while scenario-based and digital-based assessments remain rare. Integration of cognitive, affective, and social aspects into a single instrument is still limited, and psychometric quality varies across studies, highlighting the need for more integrative, authentic, and technology-based instruments aligned with 21st century learning demands.
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Type: Literature Review
EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 22, Issue 10, October 2026, Article No: em2939
https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19477
Publication date: 02 Oct 2026
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