Critical thinking skills and science achievement: A latent profile analysis

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneity among students in relation to their critical thinking skills and standardized science assessment scores by identifying different student profiles. The research utilized a latent profile analysis modeling strategy to develop student profiles with scores from the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and science scores from the Iowa Assessments at grade 5. The participants consisted of 2,052 5th-grade students across 47 schools in a Midwestern state. The results identified five distinct profiles demonstrating independence from socio-demographic characteristics. The profiles were categorized as follows: (a) Strong Inductive - Very Strong Deductive (SIVSD), (b) Strong Inductive - Strong Deductive (SISD), (c) Good Inductive - Good Deductive (GIGD), (d) Weak Inductive - Good Deductive (WIGD), and (e) Weak Inductive - Weak Deductive (WIWD). These findings shed light on the diversity of students' cognitive skills and are instrumental in fostering the development of hypotheses concerning critical thinking skills, pointing to prospective research avenues. This understanding may lead to implications on the design of curricula and teaching strategies, tailoring them to effectively nurture these critical thinking skills in diverse student populations.