The Significance of Critical Thinking in Higher Education: An Analysis

This essay examines the critical role of critical thinking in higher education, emphasizing its importance for student success and future professional endeavors. It defines critical thinking, highlighting key features such as analysis, interpretation, and unbiased judgment. The essay explores various assessment methods, including the Delphi method and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, and discusses the reliability and validity of these assessments using tools like the CCTDI and WGCTA. Challenges in designing and implementing critical thinking tests, such as balancing authenticity and psychometric ability, are also addressed. The essay underscores the need for educators to foster critical thinking skills, recognizing that these skills are highly valued by employers and essential for navigating complex situations. Overall, the essay stresses that critical thinking is a crucial skill for students and professionals alike.

Running head: IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Importance of critical thinking in higher education
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Critical thinking is one of the major skills needed for a student. This not only ensures the
right path of thinking but also helps in better decision making in later part in life. With growing
skilled workforce, all around the world, the framework of greater education system is using the
tools for enhancing one’s capability of critical thinking. The objective of having the skill is to
analyse a situation with all perspective in mind, without having a bias opinion and then form a
judgement in place. This judging supports all the way to making a better decision. The identified
key features of critical thinking are discussed below.
The problem statement of these study discuses, the assessment criteria of critical thinking
and reliability and validity of critical thinking with respect to students perspectives. Further, it
suggests the multiple way of critical thinking and challenges and consideration that the student
have to take into account of critical thinking.
This essay will define and evaluate the different concepts of critical thinking. The
planning, adoption and implementation of critical thinking by students are essential for
company’s using to screen and assess the student (Savery J. R., 2015). Companies these days
also plan frameworks for screening candidate’s ability to think critically in any matter. What are
the methods, that needs to be checked by student that will increase their critical thinking ability.
In this part of text, analysis, interpretation and assessment criteria of critical thinking is
going to be discussed. Burrus and Robins (2013) discussed the core seven frameworks of
concerning the general education and competencies important for educating the generation of
workforce. Identifying the learning outcomes, questions and analysis with relevant quality of
information and considering alternative perspective of solutions needs to be featured
characteristics of the students planning to join the workforce and accepting the opinion and

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
conclusion to certain parameters. The value of providing a rubric to an academic student is to
make them aware of their thinking assessment. The outline and project outcomes are there to
offer critical thinking assessments. Like a study in this research, criteria conducted by the
American Philosophical Association (APA) identified that the ancient Delphi method is
consensus approach of critical thinking. The discussion of experts divided the critical thinking
process in six steps. A better decision making is done by interpretation, analysis, evaluation,
inferences, explanation, and self-regulation. The decision-making and problem solving skill is a
major facilitation of the assessing likelihood of uncertainty (Darling-Hammond, (2015)).
Halpern (2012) recognized that the company should focus on the key aspects of critical thinking.
This includes the verbal reasoning, argumentative analysis, and making sound decisions and
critically thinking in hypothesis testing process. The critical test they discussed in the article has
invented a Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA) has detail assessment criteria. This
was also very interesting read, which explore on the arguments of critical thinking and reasoning.
This research in the respected area has also given the effort to some commercially available
assessments of critical philosophy of thinking.
Another way is of multivariate nature of the critical thinking definition which says that,
different themes to be considered, which is the main thing that is going to be discussed now. The
different bodies that assures the reliability of critical thinking are California Critical Thinking
Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisals (WGCTA), HCTA,
Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) program ensure the operational
thinking, reasoning of arguments and evaluation assessment process (Bass, 2012). The mental
motivation and integrated with writing and involves metacognition. The assessment test includes
the vendor, which is insight for the test taker, the format of taking test like Likert scale. The

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
delivery of test, which ensures the medium the test, must be taken into. The length of the
psychometric or aptitude test and the themes that the base the test is formed. The measurement of
the test is recognition of the student’s mental assumptions and deduction capability. The tests
mentioned above are also a report that can give insight to the scorecard ability of the students. .
The 92% of college graduates are identified to be successful if critical thinking power is more
than average in them. The high school students are also reported to be come under the important
assessment criteria of psychometric ability power. The body of Assessment of Higher Education
Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project, which comes under the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and development (OECD) includes critical thinking learning is a core competency
when evaluating the learning outcomes of college pass out students (Darling-Hammond, (2015)).
The organisation has contributed to many economical development of countries and have
expanded it research in the given critical thinking field.
Another way of testing the critical thinking criteria is to consider reliability of the testing
criteria. The Construct responses of the students and validity of the measurement CAAP ,
CCTST and WGCTA and HCTA have combination of multiple choice questions of authentic
context of reliability and validity (Bass, 2012). The scale variability and of different pointed
scale and length dimension in line can give a supportive not only to the test taker but also the
education council for assessment. The internal consistency of the subscales needs to be
considered before posing the test to prospective candidates. The score does not need to be
generalised, as it will corrupt the scorecard of the respondents. Studies also reported the unstable
factor structure and low reliability on some test according some critics for the test CCTDI
(McClarty, Orr, P. M., Vassileva, & McVay, 2012).The validity scorecard of critical thinking
and cognitive measurements, such as SAT or GRE tests are pointed scale that also evaluated the

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
negative aspects of student’s critical thinking ability. However, this examines the external
validity assessor’s of the candidates. The significant parameters and fewer negative life events
come under the validity criteria. The low-moderate-high observation range has significant
correlation of appraising observation (Mattern, et al., 2014).
Further the challenges and consideration of critical thinking that is essential for students.
Designing a test major challenge for balancing the authenticity and of the psychometric ability
for a company and it is for screening the candidates. The typical aptitude test is does not reveal
any skill proficiency of the candidate. It is often seen that this critical thinking perspectives of
candidates is overlooked if a company is in dire need of candidate recruitment. The Klein et. al.
(2012) study compared the construct validity of three standardized assessments of college
learning outcomes including critical thinking. The school-level correlation between a multiple-
choice and a constructed-response critical thinking test was high. . Another challenge of
designing a critical thinking test is the different education level of the candidates. The
instructional relevance of faculty member and isolation from curriculum and instruction. The
more they foster critical thinking specifically the more they use it to reach a common goal
(Dwyer, Hogan, & Stewart, 2014). Thinking is the most valuable things in a human world; this
contentious skill is also needed on everyday part of our lives. According to Association of
American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), 95% of chief in position of academic officers
from 433 different body came to a finale statement that critical thinking is one of the most
needed for intellectual qualities in every students and in workers (Yang & Wu, 2012).
This essay argues about the student’s critical thinking ability. The essay also argues that
the assessment criteria, reliability and validity and challenges that the student faces while going
through the thinking process. One must not forget that the psychometric ability not only reveals

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
the candidates aptitude in general but also gives the test maker an insight to indirect analysis of
their personality to some extent. The personality behaviour of a candidate is essential aspect to
consider a student converted to professional in a workforce. Despite the debate on existing test
on critical thinking, tests and ability mappers there are some drawbacks also in those tests.
Developing a parameter that can fully measure a human mind and predict the ability is not a 30
minutes process. However, with the development of those students needs to attract and can face
challenge in the process.

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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Reference
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IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
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