Development of a relational reasoning skills test: psychometric evidence from validity and reliability analyses
Thinking Skills and Creativity, cilt.62, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 62
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102326
- Dergi Adı: Thinking Skills and Creativity
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, EBSCO Education Source, Psycinfo, Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Diagnostic branched-tree question, Reasoning skills, Relational reasoning, Test development, Test validity
- Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study reports the development and initial validation of a relational reasoning test for middle school students in science/STEM education. The instrument consists of diagnostically branched tree items, scored 0–3, representing the first empirically evaluated implementation of this format in the assessment of relational reasoning in science contexts. The Relational Reasoning Skills Test (RRST) is grounded in Piaget’s theory of formal operations. Evidence for its psychometric properties was examined using classical test theory analyses, including item difficulty and discrimination indices. The final version consists of 10 items, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .70, which is generally considered acceptable for early-stage instrument development. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a two-factor solution explaining 44.60% of the variance, with factor loadings ranging above .40. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated an acceptable model fit for the proposed structure. Overall, the findings suggest that the RRST may provide preliminary evidence for assessing relational reasoning in science contexts. However, further validation studies with larger and more diverse samples are required to strengthen the psychometric support and generalizability of the instrument. Future research may also explore the integration of diagnostically branched items into adaptive and technology-enhanced assessment systems.