Why do we offer sample items? Two reasons: Qualified purchasers thinking of adopting one of our reasoning skills test may find it useful to have a very preliminary look at the kinds of questions one might find on those tests. And, doctoral students and other researches may find it helpful to be able to share these sample items, with appropriate citation, with their dissertation director or institutional review boards. More Complete Previews: Qualified buyers will achieve a much fuller view of our various critical thinking skills tests by purchasing a specimen kit. To assist with identifying the correct measurement tool for your project, please contact one of the measurement specialists at Insight Assessment and visit the Insight Assessment Test Selection Guide.

The "California Critical Thinking Skills Test" family of instruments offers versions designed for different professional fields and for test-takers of many different educational levels, from elementary school through postgraduate. The three sample questions here are not intended to represent the degree of difficulty nor the range of topics on the various versions of tests in this family.

Instructions: Using your reasoning skills,judge which choice from among those offered is the best.

Sample Reasoning Skills Item #1: Using the phone at her desk, Sylvia in Corporate Sales consistently generates a very steady $1500 per hour in gross revenue for her firm. After all of her firm's costs have been subtracted, Sylvia's sales amount to $100 in bottom line (net) profits every 15 minutes. At 10:00 a.m. one day the desk phone Sylvia uses to make her sales calls breaks. Without the phone Sylvia cannot make any sales. Assume that Sylvia's regular schedule is to begin making sales calls at 8:00 a.m. Assume she works the phone for four hours, takes a one hour lunch exactly at noon, and then returns promptly to her desk for four more hours of afternoon sales. Sylvia loves her work and the broken phone is keeping her from it. If necessary she will try to repair the phone herself. Which of the following options would be in the best interest of Sylvia's firm to remedy the broken phone problem?

A = Use Ed's Phone Repair Shop down the street. Ed can replace Sylvia's phone by
       10:30 a.m. Ed will charge the firm $500.
B = Assign Sylvia to a different project until her phone can be replaced with one from
       the firm's current inventory. Replacing the phone is handled by the night shift.
C = Authorize Sylvia to buy a new phone during her lunch hour for $75 knowing she
       can plug it in and have it working within a few minutes after she gets back to
       her desk at 1:00 p.m.
D = Ask Sylvia to try to repair her phone herself. She will probably complete the
       repair by 2:00 p.m.; or maybe later.

Image "Rusty Valve" (c) 2006 Measured Reasons LLC, Hermosa Beach, CA.

Sample Reasoning Skills Item #2: "I've heard many reasons why our nation should reduce its reliance on petroleum vehicle fuels. One is that relying on imported oil makes our economy dependent on the political whims of foreign rulers. Another is that other energy sources, like the possibility of hydrogen based fuels, are less harmful to the environment. And a third is that petroleum is not a renewable resource so when we've used it all up, it will be gone! But I don't think we're likely to use it all up for at least another fifty years. And by then we'll have invented new and better fuels and more fuel-efficient vehicles too. So that argument doesn't worry me. And I don't really believe the stuff about how foreign leaders can force our nation to change its policies simply by decreasing their oil production. Oil companies like Exxon have made record profits precisely in those times when the supply of foreign oil was reduced. I don't see the big oil companies being very interested in policy change when the money is rolling in. And for another, our nation has demonstrated that it is willing to wage war rather than to permit foreign leaders to push us around. So this whole thing about how we have to reduce our reliance on petroleum based gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel is bogus." The speaker's reasoning is best evaluated as

A = strong. It shows the arguments for reducing petroleum vehicle fuels are weak
B = strong. The speaker is very clear about what he believes and why he believes it.
C = weak. The speaker probably owns stock in Exxon or some other oil company.
D = weak. The speaker ignored the environmental argument entirely.

A = Carol and Barbara deserved to receive "pass with distinction" like Anna.
B = Barbara's work in the program was superior to Carol's.
C = Barbara was jealous of the academic success her friend, Anna, enjoyed.
D = Deirdre's work in the program was below the quality of Carol's work.
E = Anna, being successful, will decide to enroll in another advanced graduate program.

 

©2008, 2010 Measured Reasons LLC, Hermosa Beach, CA & (c) 2007 The California Academic Press LLC, Millbrae CA.

It is a common experience to encounter people with skills they are not motivated to use. And perhaps equally common to know people who are motivation to do things for which, unfortunately, they lack the skills. Reasoning and critical thinking follow this pattern. Some people are more positively disposed to apply their critical thinking skills whenever they have decisions to make or problems to solve; others are ambivalent and at times seem willing to apply their reasoning skills while at other times seem unwilling to do so; and still others are more strongly disposed not to approach the difficulties they encounter using that set of skills. For more information on critical thinking and the relationship between critical thinking skills and strong positive critical thinking habits of mind download a free copy of "Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why it Counts."