How to Assess Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking skills include the ability to evaluate information, to formulate solutions for given problems, to analyze details for trends and patterns, and to apply previous experiences to current situations. They are vital to schooling, job performance and handling myriad problems in life. As a teacher or a parent, you should assess students not just to see if they are absorbing classroom information, but if they can apply critical thinking skills appropriately. The ability will serve them well as they enter adulthood and embark upon a career.

Instructions

1. Present a lesson or an assignment to the student--including possible ways to go about finding a solution--then ask him if he understands it. Have him tell you what the assignment is, keeping an eye on whether he's just repeating what he's been told or whether he's truly processed the nature of the task.

2. Quiz the student on the overall context of the assignment or lesson. Ask her to explain why it is important to learn about, say, the U.S. Civil War or the structure of a sentence, and the application of such information in her everyday life.

3. Determine the student's means of analysis--deriving meaning from a given set of data or information--by handing out reading assignments and testing him on it. A student should be able to pull useful information out of a book or essay, and then apply it to a seemingly unrelated problem.

4. Encourage the student to come up with a solution to a given problem or an evaluation of a given situation. Critical thinking involves formulating your own answers, not just relying on someone else to tell you. If the student's critical thinking sills are deficient, she will likely just repeat a solution she's been given or rely on "what other people think." Students with stronger critical skills can come up with their own opinions and solutions, then defend them with objective evidence.

5. Assign essay questions for lesson assignments and engender discussion about the lesson topic in class. Students with strong critical thinking skills will be able to organize their thoughts well on paper, while participating vigorously in discussions. Those with poor critical thinking skills will stay silent during discussions, and struggle to convey their opinions effectively in written form.

Tips & Warnings

• Critical thinking assessment works well when it is integrated with more traditional education subjects, such as history or English. Instead of focusing on critical thinking in particular, find ways to look for it in conjunction with another topic.

• Assessing critical thinking skills is not the same as teaching critical thinking skills. Once you have identified deficiencies in a given student, prepare a lesson plan which helps him improve upon his skills.

References

• Washington State University: Critical Thinking Skills
• Critical Thinking: Index of Articles