Virus Knowledge Test: A Validity and Reliability Study

Viruses have caused and continue to cause many epidemics for centuries. During these epidemics, there are many examples that are misunderstood and applied among the public. People need to recognise these entities and take appropriate measures. In the teaching process in Türkiye, students learn about the virus for the first time in the 9th grade biology course. With this study, it is aimed to develop a test that can be used to determine the students’ knowledge level about the virus subject. It is a descriptive survey study in which data related to variables are collected. 99 students studying in the 9th grade of a state high school in Karesi district of Balıkesir city participated in the pilot application on voluntary basis. The data obtained were analysed with item difficulty and item discrimination indices from classical item statistics. The finalised Virus Knowledge Test (VBT) was administered to 9th grade 165 students from different randomly selected two state high schools in Karesi. The Cronbach α reliability coefficient for the whole VBT was found to be 0.66. The fact that it is the first virus knowledge test with reliability and validity in the literature on the virus subject reveals the originality of the study.