Critical Thinking Assessment

Many colleges and universities have developed their own rubrics which they use to foster and assess Critical Thinking outcomes.  Reviewing rubrics from several campuses can help focus local thinking about expectations for students’ critical thinking.  See the rubric collection at Opened Practices.

An Annotated List of Critical Thinking Tests
Prepared by Robert H. Ennis, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, the tests are grouped according to degree of coverage of critical thinking elements. Some tests are from international sources.

A Seven-part Critical Thinking Rubric from Washington State University
Assessment of each part is guided by descriptions of what would represent scant and substantially-developed skill in the area. Web page includes additional links for more information.

Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric from California Academic Press
A free, downloadable rubric from a company that also offers commercial tests in critical thinking. Instructions for using the rubric are included in the download.

The International Critical Thinking Essay Tests (ICAT)
By purchasing a license, an institution is granted permission to administer the exam. Students are required to analyze and assess writing prompts and the exams are scored locally. Web site contains information about test construction and properties, how it can be used by departments, implications of scoring, and how to order a sample.