Benefits of Measuring High School Student CT
Why should high schools assess critical thinking as a learning outcome? …. because critical thinking is more important to human survival than reading, writing or mathematics. Critical thinking is now widely recognized as an essential educational outcome and a powerful and vital resource in one’s personal and civic life. Teaching students to think critically is a central educational goal. But unless students are capable of critical thinking, it is highly unlikely that they will benefit from instruction even when curriculum is well designed.
Today educational programs in charter schools, home schools, private and public high schools are expected to be able to demonstrate that they are effectively improving critical thinking skills. These data assist parents and educators to know where to target educational development in order to maximize the potential of each student to achieve educational success.
Given the educational significance of critical thinking, educational leaders need valid and reliable measures of critical thinking to complement and guide teaching and learning. This information can:
- Inform teachers about the critical thinking capabilities of their students
- Assist counselors and parents in understanding each student’s needs and learning potential
- Provide baseline data by which curricular innovations can be measured
- Document the growth in each cohort of students’ critical thinking skills from entry to exit
- Guide curriculum and course exam approaches to the cognitive abilities of the students
- Benchmark your students’ critical thinking against external national norms
- Set the high school apart as one that takes critical thinking seriously
By gathering objective measures of students’ critical thinking educational leaders demonstrate to external stakeholders, board members and accrediting bodies that the school is focused on measuring something that really counts not only educationally but in the workplace and in life – critical thinking.
Insight Assessment provides assessment instruments designed to measure critical thinking skills and habits of mind. The Test of Everyday Reasoning and the California Measure of Mental Motivation Level II+ are calibrated to provide comprehensive data demonstrating the strength of critical thinking and problem solving in high school students. Use the Contact Us Form below to discuss your assessment needs.
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