Abstract:

Astronomy is one of the most interesting, accessible, and engaging sciences. Raising astronomy awareness is important for creating a more informed, scientifically literate, and creative society. It is an investment in the future of our planet. It also makes people appreciate the natural world. Therefore, it is important to assess how much the ordinary people knows about astronomy. In the literature we found several astronomy diagnostic tests. However, they are limited to the diagnose: they do not allow the participant to learn more about this field.

To address this issue, we created an literacy assessment tool that allows, also, the participants to learn about astronomy. The so-called, Astronomy Literacy Test (ALT), is an assessment and education tool designed to improve astronomy literacy. ALT is a test based on the ‘Big Ideas in Astronomy’ (document endorsed by the IAU - International Astronomical Union), which proposes a definition for astronomy literacy. Our focus is to make ALT an interesting and engaging test to take. To build ALT we have selected some intriguing concepts under each Big Idea to frame the questions. The questions in ALT are designed in such a way that at least 2-3 questions are present for each Big Idea. We include some self-learning components in ALT, so that participants can learn more about the concepts included in the Big Ideas document.

ALT has multiple choice questions and is different from the other tests, as it allows anyone irrespective of age, country, and education qualification to answer it. It is interactive and user-friendly, with images to help illustrate the astronomical phenomena. Every question is made compulsory to answer. The participants also have a choice to select ‘no idea’ if they do not know the correct answers.

After completion of the test, the participants can have access to all the questions and their answers along with a short explanation. This helps the participants to get the correct answers and gain knowledge about the topics. It provides links to reliable websites for further learning. The websites chosen were mostly Government space agency websites along with educational websites. The questions are designed in different difficulty levels ranging from regular astronomical phenomena (like solar and lunar eclipse), to advanced topics (like gravitational waves and exoplanets). This will motivate them to test their knowledge and explore topics that they might not know before.

ALT is under development, and we are now in the process of collecting valuable inputs from the scientific community. After this process, we will validate it and perform the pilot study. With that work done ALT may be used as an entrance test for astronomical courses in the universities and may be used to design various science popularization activities. It can also be used as a tool to raise astronomy awareness. ALT could become a powerful tool in creating an astronomically literate society.

Keywords:

Astronomy, Literacy, Assessment tools.