Abstract

Critical thinking is a combination of complex cognitive skills. It is important for the successful acquisition of disciplinary skills in higher education and thus, it is a valuable competency for a new student. The complex nature of critical thinking leads to challenges for its assessment even in performance assessments such as CLA + International (Collegiate Learning Assessment). The aim with this study is to examine internal associations of a critical thinking assessment for new students in higher education. The sample consisted of 1469 first-year students in 18 higher education institutions in Finland. An open-ended performance task and multiple-choice tasks were used to assess six measures of critical thinking, namely analysis and problem solving, writing effectiveness, writing mechanics, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and critiquing an argument. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to analyse the data. A latent component indicated by the measures derived from the performance task was identified. The measures derived from the multiple-choice tasks did not form a factorial structure. Multiple-choice questions are problematic in critical thinking assessment as they focus on individual skills instead of holistic use of skills. Implications for assessment development and higher education are discussed.

摘要

批判性思维是复杂认知技能的结合。它对于在高等教育中成功获得学科技能很重要，因此，它是新生的宝贵能力。批判性思维的复杂性导致其评估面临挑战，即使在 CLA + International（大学学习评估）等绩效评估中也是如此。本研究的目的是检查高等教育新生批判性思维评估的内部关联。样本包括芬兰 18 所高等教育机构的 1469 名一年级学生。一个开放式的表现任务和多项选择任务被用来评估批判性思维的六项措施，即分析和解决问题、写作效率、写作技巧、科学和定量推理、批判性阅读和批评论点。探索性和验证性因素分析用于分析数据。确定了由从性能任务派生的度量所指示的潜在组件。从多项选择任务得出的措施没有形成阶乘结构。多项选择题在批判性思维评估中存在问题，因为它们侧重于个人技能而不是技能的整体使用。讨论了对评估发展和高等教育的影响。多项选择题在批判性思维评估中存在问题，因为它们侧重于个人技能而不是技能的整体使用。讨论了对评估发展和高等教育的影响。多项选择题在批判性思维评估中存在问题，因为它们侧重于个人技能而不是技能的整体使用。讨论了对评估发展和高等教育的影响。