Bridging the Perception–Performance Gap in Scientific Literacy: Evidence from Junior High School Students’ Self-Reports and Objective Assessment

Background Scientific literacy involves not only students’ knowledge of scientific concepts but also their ability to explain phenomena, interpret scientific information, draw conclusions, and design investigations. However, students’ perceptions of their own scientific competence may not always correspond to what they can demonstrate through objective assessment. Examining both perspectives can provide a more comprehensive understanding of students’ scientific literacy and learning needs. Purpose This study aimed to examine junior high school students’ perceived and demonstrated scientific literacy and to identify discrepancies between the two across directly comparable domains. Methods A descriptive comparative design was employed with 30 junior high school students from two schools in Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Junior High School Science Learning Needs and Initial Profile Questionnaire, which examined students’ science learning interest, project-based learning experience, and perceived scientific literacy. Students also completed a 15-item objective scientific literacy assessment scored dichotomously. Descriptive analyses were conducted, followed by domain-level comparisons across scientific explanation, data/graph/table interpretation, conclusion drawing, and experimental/investigation design. Results Students demonstrated generally positive engagement with science learning and substantial experience with project-based learning. Their overall perceived scientific literacy was 68.50%, whereas demonstrated scientific literacy was 39.80%, indicating a 28.70-percentage-point discrepancy. Across the four comparable domains, perceived competence consistently exceeded demonstrated performance. The largest discrepancy occurred in conclusion drawing, followed by experimental/investigation design and scientific explanation, while data/graph/table interpretation showed the smallest discrepancy. Conclusion The findings indicate that students’ perceived scientific literacy provides a more favorable picture than their demonstrated performance, particularly for higher-order scientific reasoning competencies. Combining self-report and objective assessment can therefore provide a more informative basis for identifying students’ scientific literacy needs. Science instruction should place greater emphasis on evidence-based conclusion drawing, experimental reasoning, scientific explanation, and students’ ability to reflect on their actual performance.