What Is a Critical Thinking Evaluation?

A critical thinking evaluation assesses how well someone can apply critical thinking skills to tasks like writing essays, synthesizing information, and responding to arguments. It can be a component of college and university education as well as the workplace, where it may be performed as part of an overall employee evaluation. Rubrics outlining different kinds of critical thinking skills are commonly used as a basis for the evaluation, and people may be able to see the assessment tools used so they understand what to expect from the evaluation.

People use critical thinking to process and consider information in a variety of settings, and skills in this field are important for people who need to make decisions, analyze data, and engage in clear communication. During the course of a critical thinking evaluation, a candidate may be asked to demonstrate proficiency at collecting and synthesizing information, examining arguments, staying organized, and drawing conclusions from the available data.

In the process of information collection, people need to be able to consider their sources to determine which are reliable, and separate different kinds of data. This can include distinguishing between facts, hypotheses, and inferences as well as first, second, and third-hand information. The ability to organize this information coherently to synthesize it is also important; someone preparing a report for a supervisor, for example, would gather up a multitude of sources and highlight the most important data for the benefit of the reader.

Examination of arguments is also part of a critical thinking evaluation. People should be able to identify the argument or arguments in a piece, and provide supporting as well as opposing information. They may consider logic, and can attack arguments on the basis that they show evidence of poor critical thinking, such as mistaking correlation for causation. In a critical thinking evaluation, candidates may be asked to demonstrate that they are comfortable finding and defending all sides of an argument, and can set aside their personal opinions to do so.

An evaluator can rank the candidate, determining whether the demonstrated skills are above or below average. Using a multi-point rubric, people can assess individual types of skills. Someone may be very good at organizing information, for example, but less skilled at actually examining the arguments. Another candidate may be able to present a variety of arguments with supporting and opposing statements, but cannot evaluate the credibility of sources. Feedback on a critical thinking evaluation helps people determine where they need to improve.