california critical thinking skills test quizlet

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First things first.

Getting ready with your application for that job and have been asked to take the CCTST? Or perhaps you are a student and the CCTST gives you extra credit? Yet, you have no idea on how to prepare for it. Not to worry, here is a comprehensive guide explaining the CCTST and how to prepare for the same.

What is the California Critical Thinking Skills Test?

The California Critical Thinking Skills test is a discipline-neutral test that is used to evaluate the reasoning abilities of candidates. It has been used in all kinds of industries to test graduates of their aptitudeand logical thinking capabilities before shortlisting them for the next step in the recruitment process.

How does the test work?

The CCTST is designed to test whether a test-taker would demonstrate the critical and logical thinking skills required to solve the problems and in effect show real-world problem-solving abilities. The test has the following features.

• Multiple choice components are mandatory and use everyday scenarios specific to the test-taker group. The candidate is required to completely understand the question, draw an inference and choose whichever option is the best suited response to the question.
• The test items are different based on the test-taker group.
• In an education setting, this test is administered to evaluate the candidates enrolling for a specific program, such as a Bachelor’s degree. It is also used to advise individual students, for program evaluation, accreditation, research and assessment of learning outcomes.
• In a workplace setting, this test is used to evaluate an applicant’s reasoning skills in an effort to understand if the said candidate has the ability to fulfill the expectations of the organization.
• The test is usually conducted for 45-50 minutes and the questions are largely dependent on the test-taker group.
• The items on the CCTST are drawn, either at random or picked by the examiners, from a pool of items that were used to test candidates over the past 20 years.

How difficult is the California Critical Thinking Skills Test?

The test consists of around 34 multiple choice questions to be solved within 45 minutes or so, that means you would have around 1.3 minutes per question. The CCTST has questions that you would find on most reasoning tests.

What is the test passing score?

The California Critical Thinking Skills Test is measured on an array of scales. These are –Analysis, Inference, Deduction, Induction, Evaluation and overall reasoning skills. The test provides a score of each of these skills. Most organizations have a cut-off score (many require a score of 13) for being selected.

What kind of abilities or knowledge do you need to pass this test?

As initially stated, this exam requires critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. They differ based on the industry you are in. It’s highly advisable to take up practice exams numerous times to be prepared for the actual exam. Your very first attempt would show you where you lack in critical thinking abilities.

If you are unable to solve a problem, read the solution first and then retrace it backwards. With this technique, you would learn to look at problems with a fresh perspective.

And finally, practice makes you perfect. Solve many practice exams with a timer and soon you would be surprised at how fast you solve these problems.

How important is the CCTST for your evaluation?

In the United States, many organizations not only insist upon clearing this exam but on scoring high as well to advance in the recruitment process. Weakness in critical thinking would lead to failure to learn, confused communication, ineffective enforcement of rules, etc. Hence, employers and educationists make it mandatory for candidates to improve upon their reasoning abilities.

This test is a standardized measure of reasoning abilities and has been used for decades by many organizations, both worldwide and in the United States. Hence, if this is a part of your assessment, be it for a job or an educational program, it’s very important that you score well on this test.

To sum things up

it is imperative that you take up the CCTST for adding more value to your resume, and in the process of preparation, develop your critical thinking skills.

Instruments

California critical thinking skills tests (cctst), description.

The California Critical Thinking Skills Tests (CCTST)  is an objective measure of the core reasoning skills needed for reflective decision making concerning what to believe or what to do.  The CCTST is designed to engage the test-taker's reasoning skills.  The CCTST tests range in number of items, though all are presented in multiple choice format, and all use everyday scenarios appropriate to the intended test-taker group.  Items range in difficulty and complexity.  

The CCTST is not one test, but a dynamic family of tests - different versions for different age levels or professional fields.  These include:

• California Critical Thinking Skills Test   and   California Critical Thinking Skills Test - Numeracy
• Business Critical Thinking Skills Test   and   Business Critical Thinking Skills Test - Numeracy
• Business Reasoning Test
• CCTST M-Series Children and Youth:   CCTST MIB (grades 3-5) ,   CCST M20 (grades 6-9),   and  CCTST M25 (grades 6-9)
• Health Science Reasoning Test   and   Health Science Reasoning Test - Numeracy
• Test of Everyday Reasoning   and   Test of Everyday Reasoning - Numeracy
• Legal Studies Reasoning Test
• Military & Defense Critical Thinking Inventory
• CCST CCT-G835

The CCTST has been proven to predict strength in critical thinking in authentic problem situations and success on professional licensure examinations.  In educational settings, the CCTST is recommended for evaluating program applicants, advising individual students, learning outcomes assessment, program evaluation, accreditation and research.

The link provides access to purchase of the CCTST as well as its documentation.

Authors provide instrument validity and/or reliability information.

All resources

STELAR is not the author of these materials and cannot provide information on validity or permission for use. Permissions must be requested through the publisher or authors listed below.

INSTRUMENT DETAILS

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California critical thinking skills test (cctst), instructions.

Please click here to view detailed instructions for accessing and completing the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)

If you have any questions about the study or the CCTST questionnaire, you are welcome to contact Dr. Jennifer Hill, Director of the Office of Assessment, at (919) 668-1617 or  [email protected] . 

Click here for instructions to begin the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)

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California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)

The CCTST (Facione, 1990; P. A. Facione & N. C. Facione, 1994) was developed, validated, and used for assessing students’ CT skills. It is a standardised, 34-item multiple choice test, non discipline-specific that targets core critical thinking skills. Each item on the CCTST is assigned to one of three subscales: Analysis, Evaluation, and Inference.

Critical Thinking, Reasoning, Analyticity, Evaluation, Explanation, Induction, Deduction

Administration Information

Access and use.

Price quotes available $10/test, or $70 for 10 tests (*can be purchased with CCTDI)

California Academic Press Insight Assessment 650-697-5628 1735 N 1st Street, Suite 306 San Jose, CA 95112-4511 USA

Brown, F. W., & Bielinska-Kwapisz, A. (2015). Understanding the nature and determinants of critical thinking among senior business undergraduate students. Journal of Education for Business, 90 (7), 359–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2015.1068156

Bycio, P., &; Allen, J. S. (2009). The California Critical Thinking Skills Test and business school performance. American Journal of Business Education, 2 (8), 1-8.  https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v2i8.4593

Stephenson, N. S., Miller, I. R., & Sadler-Mcknight, N. P. (2019). Impact of peer-led team learning and the science writing and workshop template on the critical thinking skills of first-year chemistry students. Journal of Chemical Education , 96 (5), 841–849.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00836  

Psychometrics

Facione, Peter A. (1990) The California Critical Thinking Skills Test--College Level. Technical Report #1. Experimental Validation and Content Validity (ED327549). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED327549.pdf

Facione, P. A. (1990). The California Critical Thinking Skills Test--College Level. Technical Report# 2. Factors Predictive of CT Skills.   https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED327550.pdf

Psychometric Considerations

Psychometrics is the science of psychological assessment. A primary goal of EdInstruments is to provide information on crucial psychometric topics including Validity and Reliability – essential concepts of evaluation, which indicate how well an instrument measures a construct - as well as additional properties that are worthy of consideration when selecting an instrument of measurement.

 Learn more

California Critical Thinking Skills Test

Get data for Admissions Evaluating Critical Thinking Skills   Student Success Advising National Benchmarking Accreditation Educational Research

The  California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)  is an educational assessment that measures all the core reasoning skills needed for reflective decision-making. The CCTST provides valid and reliable data on critical thinking skills of individuals and of groups.  It is designed for use with undergraduate and graduate students. It is available in many languages and its OVERALL skills score can be benchmarked using one of many percentile comparisons. Clients most commonly use the  CCTST for admissions, advising and retention, studies of curriculum effectiveness, accreditation, and the documentation of student learning outcomes.

For assessment specs, administration, metrics reported, and more, scroll down. Contact us by using the “Request A Quote” button to ask a question. Or phone us at 650-697-5628 to speak with an assessment services client support specialist.

Seamless Testing. Results You Can Trust.

Higher education.

CCTST is calibrated for undergraduate and graduate level college students across the full spectrum of disciplines and fields of study.

Administration

Administered online with a secure, user-friendly, multi-lingual, WCAG Level AA Compliant interface interface. 

Support Materials

User Manual includes all needed information about administering the assessment and interpreting the resulting individual and group scores.

Assessment Specs

55 minutes timed administration; 40 engaging, scenario-based questions

Deliverables

Group graphics with statistical summary of scores; Excel spreadsheet of responses to all custom demographic questions, and all scores for each person tested. Optional individual score reports for administrators and/or test takers.

Results Reported

Metrics include scores for 8 critical skills, plus an OVERALL rating. Population percentile scores are available for benchmarking.

All of the CCTST metrics are on a 100-point scale with a corresponding qualitative rating (Superior, Strong, Moderate, Weak, Not Manifested).

Available in English, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian-Bahasa, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese languages.

CCTST provides 8  cognitive skill scores to focus future development and training. Items are drawn from a scientifically developed and tested item pool.

• OVERALL Critical Thinking Skills – Sustained use of critical thinking to form reasoned judgments
• Analysis  – Accurate identification of the problem and decision-critical elements
• Interpretation  – Discovering and determining significance and contextual meaning
• Inference –  Drawing warranted and logical conclusions from reasons and evidence
• Evaluation  – Assessing credibility of claims and the strength of arguments
• Explanation  – Providing the evidence, reasons, assumptions, or rationale for judgments and decisions
• Induction  – Reasoned judgment in ambiguous, risky, and uncertain contexts
• Deduction  – Reasoned judgment in precisely defined, logically rigorous contexts
• Numeracy  – Sustained use of critical thinking skills in quantitative contexts (quantitative reasoning)

The  California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)  Report Package includes an individual test-taker report for each person assessed and group summary reports for each group and sub-group in the sample.

Reports are generated immediately after the conclusion of testing and are available for clients to download making real time assessment possible. Read more about how our  customer support specialists work with clients to select their reporting options on our Services tab or contact us for a consultation.

Group Analytics

• Clients can generate and download Excel spreadsheet files of all scores (OVERALL, Percentile ranking and all cognitive score metrics). At the option of the client, these also include the responses to custom demographic questions added by the client to the assessment profile, and percentile scores corresponding to the external comparison group selected by the client.
• Presentation-ready tables and graphic representations of the score distribution for OVERALL critical thinking skills and for the additional cognitive skill metrics.
• Customers who have added custom demographic questions can generate sub-group reports for these variables, or for specific testing sessions or time periods.

Optional Individual Test-Taker Reports

• An overall score of critical thinking skills (OVERALL Score). OVERALL is reported on a 100-point scale accompanied by a qualitative rating (Superior, Strong, Moderate, Weak, Not Manifested), and a comparison percentile score.
• Scores for each cognitive skill metric. These metrics are scored on a 100-point scale and are accompanied by a categorical interpretation of the strength of the score indicating areas of strength and areas for future development.
• The Individual Test Taker Report can be pushed to an email address of the client’s choosing (for example, to an admissions office email, institutional assessment email, dean’s office email, etc.).
• The client controls whether individual reports are made available to the test-taker.

Need to expedite your project?  We can have your first online testing assignment available for your students within 24 hours.  Request a Quote or get started by calling 650-697-5628 and speaking with one of our assessment specialists today.

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