Upper Secondary Schools Students’ Progression in Operational Scientific Skills – A Comparison between Grades 10 and 12

The goal of this study is to investigate upper secondary students’ learning progression in operational scientific skills over a 3 year period. Operational scientific skills is taken to mean utilizing science knowledge and skills, particularly with relevance to creative problem solving and making reasoned decision in real life situations. An interdisciplinary contextualized instrument based on real life related items following the SOLO taxonomy was used. Results (grades N10=1128 and N12=764) show no expected shift in operational skills. Changes are needed in upper secondary science education to ensure students give more appropriate responses related to problem solving and decision making items.