Assessment of Critical Thinking Skills in Primary Education: Validation of Challenges of Thinking Test

Critical thinking is widely acknowledged as crucial for 21st century learners to be able to tackle the complex tasks arising every day in a rapidly changing world. Earlier critical thinking research has mostly focused on the related micro-skills, which have been criticized as inadequate. Recent studies have placed more emphasis on nurturing the dispositions towards critical thinking. Another trend in critical thinking research is the realization that good performance on generic critical thinking skills tests does not guarantee critical thinking performance in the real world. In line with the recent trends in critical thinking development, educators have shown growing interest in fostering critical thinking skills and dispositions in students through collaborative inquiry in authentic problem-solving contexts. However, empirical research that examines students’ critical thinking behavior while they engage in extended collaborative inquiry is rare. Further, it is not clear whether differences in students’ critical thinking abilities contribute to differences in their engagement and learning outcomes in collaborative inquiry. This study aims to investigate the relationship between students’ critical thinking and the quality of their collaborative inquiry. The study involved a class of secondary two students studying a humanities module through collaborative inquiry involving the use of an online platform. Given the debates over the value of different methods of measuring critical thinking, this study first seeks to explore the relationship between three different critical thinking tests: two standardized surveys on generic skills and dispositions, and a constructed-response test on context-specific skills. Second, this study examines whether students with higher critical thinking scores are better able to apply critical thinking to real-life situations. This is done through analyzing students’ critical thinking behaviors exhibited in the context of authentic problem solving. Third, this study explores the relationship between students’ critical thinking behavior and their knowledge building engagement in the learning process. Finally, this study uses the standardized tests to determine whether there is any significant change in the students’ critical thinking ability after a sustained engagement in collaborative inquiry to tackle an authentic problem. The analysis revealed a number of interesting findings. First, the three critical thinking tests are related but measure different aspects of critical thinking. Second, compared with traditional standardized surveys, the context-specific critical thinking test is a better indicator of the likelihood of the students to autonomously apply critical thinking in authentic problem-solving contexts. Third, critical thinking behaviors exhibited by students contributed to their engagement in knowledge building. Fourth, there was a statistically significant increase in students’ critical thinking dispositions after the extended collaborative inquiry of an authentic problem. The study has both theoretical and methodological implications. The study has both theoretical and educational implications. It deepens our understanding of the relationship between critical thinking and computer-supported collaborative inquiry. This study has provided strong evidence that traditional measures of critical thinking cannot predict the quality of students’ critical thinking engagement in authentic problem-solving contexts. Further, it also provides empirical support the theoretical claim that engaging students in knowledge building activities will enhance their critical thinking skills and dispositions.

This study aims to determine students' mathematical critical thinking skills in terms of gender differences. This research was conducted in March 2023 in class VII junior high school. The subjects of this study consisted of 6 people, including 3 male students and 3 female students. Based on the gender of each student, they are then grouped into 2 people with high ability categories, 2 people with medium ability categories, and 2 people with low ability categories. This type of research is a descriptive research. Data collection techniques were carried out using a written test consisting of 2 questions, by interview and documentation. Data analysis techniques consist of three stages, namely data is data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Test the validity of the data using method triangulation techniques and data source triangulation. The results showed that students with high abilities could work on critical thinking test questions and covered all the indicators. In contrast, students with moderate abilities still needed to be able to work on mathematical critical thinking test questions well according to the criteria for critical mathematical thinking. Students with low abilities have yet to be able to do well on the mathematical critical thinking test according to the criteria of critical mathematical thinking. No significant difference exists between how to solve the test questions for male and female students in each ability category

<p><em>Critical Thinking, formerly viewed as a western concept is now taught to learners worldwide as an important skill in education. This study deals with the necessity of incorporating Critical Thinking teaching in EFL classes in Beninese secondary schools through pointing out its advantages and current challenges to implementation. To collect relevant data for the research, three instruments were used: The Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X, questionnaire and class observation. The target population has consisted of one hundred and fifty high school learners and sixty EFL teachers. The learners were split into two groups: the control group and the experimental one. Both groups took the critical thinking test twice, as pre- and post- tests. The results of the test and answers provided by teachers have revealed that teachers do not teach critical thinking skills to their learners. Trying to understand the root cause of this situation, the researcher has found that Beninese EFL teachers are not trained to teach and assess critical thinking skills.</em></p>

This study aims to determine the mathematical critical thinking and communication skills of high school students in trigonometry materials. This research uses descriptive qualitative approach. Subjects were randomly selected from 10th grade as many as five students. The instrument used was a test of critical thinking skills, communication, and non-tests in the form of an attitude scale questionnaire of 16 statements. The results showed that students had critical thinking skills and communication in the low category. Students are not able to complete trigonometry questions completely. This is because students are poorly trained in solving trigonometric problems with non-routine questions. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that: (1) mathematical critical thinking skills of five students of class X on trigonometry material are still relatively low. (2) Mathematical communication skills of five students of class X on trigonometry are still relatively low. (3) There is a relationship between critical thinking skills and mathematical communication of students. (4) And students’ attitudes toward mathematics learning, tests of mathematical critical thinking, and communication skills on trigonometric material are good. So the critical thinking skills and mathematical communication of five students in trigonometry material are still lacking because students have difficulty in modeling trigonometry problems, and stuck with modification questions because many students are not able to complete the answers to the questions given.

"The Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT) level Z is a broadly applied instrument for the measurement of undergraduate, gifted students’ and adults’ critical thinking abilities, however, there is a lack of studies in the literature investigating its factorial structure. The test developers emphasize the interpretation of the test results as a general critical thinking factor, including different cognitive abilities, but also highlight the overlap between the items of the subfactors. The aim of the study is the investigation of internal consistency, the comparison of different factorial structures (unidimensional, correlated, and hierarchical models), and gender invariance testing of the CCTT level Z. Hungarian-speaking undergraduate students participated in the study (N = 825). For the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) the Mplus version 8.7, with weighted least squares mean and variance adjusted estimation was used. Measurement invariance of the test across genders was analyzed using Muthén’s two-step procedure for dichotomous data. The results indicated that the correlated four-factor and second-order structures of the test exceeded the acceptable model fit criteria. Post hoc inspection was conducted on the second-order four-factor model, indicating a shortened 22-item version of the test (with a general critical thinking factor, including four subfactors: deduction, meaning and fallacies, induction, assumption identification) with excellent fit indices [χ2 (203) = 259.309, CFI = .967, TLI = .963, RMSEA = .018, SRMR = .056]. Configural and scalar invariance of the abbreviated Hungarian version of the test across genders were confirmed. Keywords: critical thinking, undergraduate students, confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance"

The development of critical thinking, the ability to solve problems by assessing evidence using valid inferences, abstractions, and generalizations, is one of the global goals advocated by most medical schools. This study determined changes in critical thinking skills between entry and near the end of the third year of medical school, assessed the predictive ability of a test of critical thinking skills, and assessed the concurrent validity of clerkship components and final grade. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment (WGCTA) was administered to one class of students at entry to medical school and near the end of year 3. Performance data for those students who completed their clinical clerkships on schedule were also recorded. Critical thinking improved modestly but significantly from entry to medical school to near the end of year 3. The ability of a critical thinking test to predict clerkship performance was limited; the correlation between WGCTA total score at entry and the components and final grade of five major clerkships ranged from near 0 to 0.34. The concurrent validity of clerkship components and final grade was also limited; correlations with WGCTA total score near the end of year 3 ranged between 0.08 and 0.49. The correlation between WGCTA total score and United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 was higher at year 3 than at medical school entry. Critical thinking skills improve moderately during medical school. Used alone, tests of critical thinking may be of limited value in predicting which students will be successful in clinical clerkships. Clerkship evaluation components and final grade have limited concurrent validity when a test of critical thinking is the criterion.

Perhaps one of the first large scale attempts to teach was the Critical Thinking Project (Smith, Henderson, Swift, Ennis, Aschner, and Payette, in press) of the Illinois Curriculum Program Committee, which was launched in Septem ber, 1954. The teachers and project staff members responsible for the planning of this project conceiv ed of critical thinking as the process of evaluating arguments and assessing the way in which conclu sions are reached. Lists of critical thinking abili ties and items of knowledge were drawn up, and in the summer of 1954 a student handbook en t i tied Guide to Clear Thinking (Henderson, Smith, Swift, j and Aschner, 1954) was prepared. Nearly three thousand students in five Illinois high schools were | involved in this project. Approximately one-third of these students served as a control group. The remaining students were given instruction and prac tice in processes of critical thinking in connection I with the conventional subjects: English, social studj ies, science, and mathematics. In September, 1955, differences between the ex perimental and control groups were measured. Two standardized tests of critical thinking were selected for this purpose, the Watson-Glaser Critical Think ing Appraisal, Form Bm, and A Test of C ritical Thinking, Form G, prepared by the American Coun cil on Education (hereafter called the ACE test). As another evaluation technique the staff used _A Test on Principles of Critical Thinking, Form F_l 5, which was especially designed to d i s cover whether the students knew principles of critical thinking. | Various achievement tests were also administered. On the whole, the findings were not conclusive. Only some differences between experimental and control groups were statistically significant. One finding of particular interest was the low intercor relations obtained among the tests of critical think ing.

FOR SEVERAL decades measurement of crit ical thinking skills and abilities has presented a major difficulty because educators have not agreed on the kind of measurement which should be used. There has even been a lack of agreement regard ing a definition for critical thinking. The problem of measurement is the focus of this study. Ina search for common elements in the operational definitions of critical thinking used by dif f erent researchers, three tests of critical thinking were analyzed. This research arose from the f i n d i ngs of the Illinois Curriculum Program Committee relative to its Critical Thinking Project (9). When the Project Committee and the cooperating teachers wanted to evaluate their attempt to teach the prin ciples of critical thinking, the following three tests were selected for the purpose: the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form Bm; A Test of Critical Thinking, Form G, prepared by the A merican Council on Education; and A Test on Principles of Critical Thinking, Form FI. 5, pre pared by the Project staff (hereafter called the Watson-Glaser, ACE, and Principles tests re spectively). Low intercorrelations were obtained between total scores on any two of these tests. These low intercorrelations led to the inference that there is little relationship between the knowledge of the principles of critical thinking and the ability to use these principles. The Project Commit tee consequently felt the need for more inform a t i o n regarding the internal structure of the three crit ical thinking tests. The technique of factor analysis was used for the purpose of determining whether the tests ac tually do measure what they are supposed to mea sure according to the a priori reasoning of the test makers. The research hypothesis tested was that factor analyses of these three tests of criti cal thinking will yield some common factors a mong the items in these three tests.

THE ABILITY to think critically is generally I considered to be one of the skills teachers should attempt to develop in their students. The desira bility of this skill is reflected in recommenda tions of such authoritative bodies as the Educa tional Policies Commission, the Harvard Fac ulty, and the American Council on Education (1). There have been many attempts to measure the ability to think critically. One of the first major attempts resulted in the construction of the Watson-Glazer Test of Critical Thinking, which at the present time appears to be the major meas urement approach utilized in studies of critical thinking. A more recent test developed by Ennis (2) is intended to obviate some of the limitations inherent in the Watson-Glazer. A problem of interest both to educators and psychologists is the extent to which critical thinking skills manifest themselves beyond the paper and pencil test-taking situation. To study this question, Reilly (4) developed a test designed to measure a student's ability to apply knowledge in circumstances not directly learned in the class room situation. A science scrapbook was prepared containing 40 newspaper clippings matched in content or idea to 40 items on a previously given physics test. The students were asked to agree or disagree with the accuracy of the newspaper clippings. There have been other devices of a test nature somewhat similar to this (3, 1). It will be noted, however, that these attempts, while less obviously purporting to measure criitical think ing, still are limited by the paper and pencil for mat, a limitation which would appear to be rather important. This paper reports an attempt to evaluate criti cal thinking through a structured interview with the student. This approach appears to have the following merits: First, it is not identified as a test and in particular is not identified as directly related to critical thinking or reasoning but merely seeks to examine the student's opinions and the reasons for the opinions which he holds on a particular topic. Second, the topic about which opinions are sought is one which is believed to be of some interest and importance generally and particularly to high school students so that | one might have some confidence in generalizing to other aspects of their every-day life. The interview consists of 12 items pertaining to the topic of sleep learning of which ten are scored. The 12 items along with samples of the scoring guides for each are presented at the end of this article. The interview was administered to 59 high-school juniors and recorded on tape. Each interview took approximately five minutes. The scoring procedure was developed by hav ing three individuals, all with background in logic or critical thinking, independently score a sample of 70 responses. Using a six point scale the raters agreed within a three point range on all responses except four. On these four items two of the judges discussed the items and arrived at the final assignment. The remaining item scores were determined by averaging the judg ments of the three raters. Following this the pro tocols of each of the subjects were scored using the examples so derived. The score for each indi vidual was a summation of his scores on the 12 items. The objectivity of the scoring system was evaluated by having two independent scorers score 47 interviews. A correlation of .85 was at tained between the two sets of scores. The split-half reliability adjusted by the Spearman-Brown formula was found to be .64. In addition to the logical validity implicit in the development of the scoring system, the following validity data were obtained. In each case the standard error of r is .16 or smaller. The correla tion with the Watson-Glazer Test of Critical Thinking was .58. The correlation with the I.D.S. Test of Critical Thinking was .54. The correla tion with teachers' ratings of critical thinking based on one year's experience with the same stu dents during which a concerted attempt to teach critical thinking was integrated into the Ameri can history course resulted in a correlation of .60. An additional attempt at validation consisted of comparing the C.I. scores of one group of students prior to an instructional period in criti cal thinking with the scores of a second group of students who had completed the course work in critical thinking, the expectation being that the scores of the students having completed the

SMAN 1 Besuki organizes education and learning that leads to 21st century skills. One of the 21st century skills developed is students' critical thinking skills. The critical thinking skills of class XI MIPA 1 students in the 2024/2025 Academic Year, especially in biology learning based on the results of interviews with biology subject teachers, still need to be improved, this is confirmed by the results of students' critical thinking ability tests with an average of 49.85 with a category still underdeveloped. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of Blended Problem Based Learning with integrated social media-based learning media in improving the critical thinking skills of class XI MIPA 1 students. This study is a Classroom Action Research based on Lesson Study. Data on critical thinking skills were obtained using a critical thinking test with essay-type questions. Data from students' critical thinking skills tests were analyzed descriptively qualitatively by referring to the Illinois Critical Thinking Essay Test. The results show that the results of students' critical thinking tests in cycle I and cycle II increased by 9.83%, which means that the critical thinking skills of class XI MIPA 1 students in the 2024/2025 Academic Year have developed well in biology learning using Blended-Problem Based Learning with integrated social media-based learning media.

This study aims to produce a learning kit with a guided inquiry model on cell metabolism topic that effectively improves students' critical thinking skills. This research is developmental research using the Dick & Carey developmental model. The learning kit includes Learning Implementation Plans (RPP), Learner Worksheets (LKPD), and critical thinking test instruments. The research was conducted at MAN Insan Cendekia Gorontalo and MAS Muhammadiyah Kabila with a sample of students of Class XII in the academic year 2023-2024. Indicators of the effectiveness of the learning kit in this study were reviewed from the aspect of students' responses to the learning process conducted and the results of students' critical thinking tests. The results showed that the learning kit could improve students' critical thinking skills. The effectiveness aspect based on the student response questionnaire is in the excellent category. The critical thinking test results in the small group test increased by 41% with an N-Gain value of 0.61 (moderate). In the field test at MAN Insan Cendekia Gorontalo, there was an increase of 32% with an N-gain of 0.54 (moderate) and at MA Muhammadiyah Kabila, there was an increase of 31% with an N-gain of 0.36 (moderate category).

The factorial validity of the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests: A multi-analytic approach

Information about students’ scientific creative thinking and scientific critical thinking skills is one of the important factorin order to ancillary students’ learning achievement in the subjects of physics, including hydrostatic pressure. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify students’ scientific creative thinking and scientific critical thinking skills profile through developing a diagnostic instrument test named Scientific Creative and Critical Thinking (SCCT) test in the open-ended questions form. The instrument SCCT-test consist of two scientific creative thinking test and three scientific critical thinking test related to hydrostatic pressure had been developed based on Scientific Structure Creativity Model (SSCM) and Assessment of Critical Thinking Ability (ACTA). In this paper,the instrument SCCT-test had been reconstructed three times on each times 10 eleventh grade students’ responses and model answers that constructed based on rubrics at SSCM and ACTA. The last constructed SCCT-Test have made students reveal their ideas and their critical reasoning related to the problems.From this result, we can consider SCCT-Test can be used to diagnose students scientific creative thinking and scientific critical thinking simultantly related to hydrostatic pressure.

The importance of developing higher order skills in higher education students is a recommendation of several international organizations, so that they are able to respond to the challenges of 21st century society. The literature mentions several methodologies with these potentialities, including Cooperative Learning (CL), especially in presential learning environments. This study aims at comparing the effectiveness of CL in the development of Critical Thinking (CT) skills of higher education students in Portugal in two learning environments: face-to-face and distance learning. A quasi-experimental study was implemented, with pre and posttest, using the Critical and Creative Thinking Test (1.Revista Lusófona de Educação 44:173–189) with 32 students of the 3rd year of the Basic Education Program, distributed in two groups: 1) the presential group (academic year 2018/19) and 2) the distance learning group through synchronous sessions and virtual rooms in small groups (academic year 2019/20). The results show that there are no statistically significant differences in the total score of the Critical and Creative Thinking Test or with regard to the different skills assessed by the Critical and Creative Thinking Test: interpretation, analysis, explanation, evaluation, synthesis and creativity. In line with recent research, these results, to be confirmed at a larger scale, point out that CL is equally effective in promoting CT for students in face-to-face or in distance synchronous learning environments.

This study aimed to investigate teachers' perceptions about the need to develop critical thinking tests. The research method used quantitative descriptive. Research involved 20 biology teachers who taught at the senior high school in Riau. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire accompanied by a discussion with the teacher. The questionnaire contained questions regarding the teacher's knowledge of critical thinking, the availability of critical thinking instruments, and their implementation in learning. Data analysis was carried out in a quantitative descriptive. The results of the study show that the teachers’ knowledge of critical thinking is developing. The teacher also explained that it is crucial for students to have critical thinking skills so that measurements need to be taken. The availability of instruments to measure critical thinking when viewed from the percentage of teachers who provide them is 70%. In its implementation, the teacher makes critical thinking questions sourced from the question bank, articles, and books. The questions prepared by the teacher are also able to measure critical thinking even though they do not yet cover all aspects of critical thinking. Based on the research results, it can be recommended that the development of critical thinking tests can be carried out by the aspects of critical thinking (basic clarification, bases for a decision, inference, advanced clarification, supposition and integration, and strategies and tactics) and in line with the material being studied at school.