Thinking Skills and Admission to Higher Education

By
Dr. Alec Fisher
(Director, Centre for Research in Critical Thinking, University of East Anglia,
Norwich)
Contents
Introduction
1. Background on Thinking Skills.
. !hat "rom#ts Thinking Skills "rogrammes$
%. !hat is the E&idence on Teaching Thinking$
'. !h( Assess Thinking Skills )or *ni&ersit( Admission$
+. ,easuring Intelligence & Assessing Thinking Skills
-. Thinking Skills Assessment .TSA/ or Scholastic Assessment Test .SAT/
0. !hat is Critical Thinking$
1. !hat is "ro2lem Sol&ing$
3. Summar( o) the Argument.
14. To Conclude
A##endi56 The notion o) e))ect si7e e5#lained.
Bi2liogra#h(
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Introduction
This %a%er was co&&issione' (y the University of Ca&(ri'ge )ocal E*a&inations
+yn'icate to %rovi'e infor&ation for those with an interest in ,thinking skills- an' the
%rocess of .niversity a'&issions/ 0t %rovi'es
(i) a g.i'e for ,the %olicy &aker- (as o%%ose' to ,the st.'ent- or ,the research
co&&.nity-),
(ii) a g.i'e to ,thinking skills- an' the research that .n'er%inne' their
intro'.ction " the fo.n'ations of the s.(1ect,
(iii) a g.i'e to the ,'ifferent kin's- of thinking skills,
(iv) the evi'ence an' arg.&ents for clai&s that Thinking +kills are .sef.l,
es%ecially why they are .sef.l for higher e'.cation
(v) an e*%lanation of the si&ilarities an' 'ifferences (etween the North
A&erican +cholastic Assess&ent Test (+AT) an' the Thinking +kills
Assess&ent (T+A) 'evelo%e' (y UC)E+/
0t arg.es that well"'esigne' ,thinking skills- assess&ents co.l' %lay an i&%ortant role
in 'iscri&inating a&ong .niversity a%%licants with very goo' A"level res.lts " the
%ro(le& face' c.rrently (y &any .niversities an' .niversity co.rses in the U2/
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1. Background on Thinking Skills.
There are &any stran's in what has (eco&e known as the ,thinking skills- tra'ition/
An i&%ortant one in the %resent conte*t is the ,critical thinking- tra'ition, which is
co&&only trace' (ack to 3ohn Dewey, the A&erican %sychologist, %hiloso%her an'
e'.cator (Dewey ($44))/ 5n a relate' (.t 'ifferent tack, the (&athe&atical)
,%ro(le& solving- tra'ition has rather o(sc.re (eginnings (.t the 6.ngarian
&athe&atician 7eorg 8olya is wi'ely cre'ite' with originating it as a teacha(le skill9
.n.s.ally for a (ook on &athe&atics, his classic How to Solve It (8olya ($4:!)) has
sol' over a &illion co%ies/
A ;.ite 'ifferent stran', which has (een very infl.ential in schools, 'erives fro& the
work of the 0sraeli %sychologist, R.e(en <e.erstein on ,0nstr.&ental Enrich&ent-
(<e.erstein et al ($4=))/ The work of E'war' De Bono, es%ecially on 'ivergent
thinking, otherwise often known as ,lateral thinking-, is 'ifferent again an' has (een
wi'ely i&%le&ente' (De Bono ($4>?) an' ($4=>))/ There is also @atthew )i%&an-s
8hiloso%hy for Chil'ren %rogra&&e, which is si&ilar to the critical thinking tra'ition
in so&e res%ects ()i%&an ($4=) an' ($44$))/ Again in the Unite' +tates, the work
on ,&.lti%le intelligences- 'evelo%e' (y 6owar' 7ar'ner at 6arvar', has (een
enor&o.sly infl.ential an' ai&s to 'evelo% 'ifferent intelligences (y teaching
thinking skills (7ar'ner ($44#))/
0n Britain, one of the &ost significant 'evelo%&ents has (een the CA+E %rogra&&e
(Cognitive Acceleration Thro.gh +cience E'.cation) 'evelo%e' (y A'ey an' +hayer,
an' (ase' on the work of 8iaget (A'ey, 8 an' +hayer @/ ($44:))/ There is also the
+o&erset Thinking +kills %rogra&&e, 'erive' fro& <e.erstein (Blagg et al ($4==)),
the work on critical thinking, e&(o'ie' in the A+ level e*a&ination in Critical
Thinking (see <isher (2$)) an' the work e&anating fro& the Newcastle +chool of
E'.cation (eg/ )eat ($44=) Thinking Through Geography).
These are only so&e of the stran's in the thinking skills tra'ition/ +o&e originate
fro& work in %sychology (e/g/, instr.&ental enrich&ent an' CA+E) whilst others
'erive fro& %hiloso%hy (e/g/, critical thinking an' 8hiloso%hy for Chil'ren)/ 0n so&e
%rogra&&es, thinking skills are ta.ght in ,stan'alone- co.rses, se%arate fro& or'inary
school s.(1ects (e/g/, instr.&ental enrich&ent, 8hiloso%hy for Chil'ren) whilst others
are ,inf.se'- into the teaching of or'inary school s.(1ects (e/g/, CA+E, Thinking
Thro.gh 7eogra%hy)/ 0n all cases the teaching ai&s to teach thinking skills explicitly
an' directly, rather than ass.&ing that they get 'evelo%e' indirectly an' implicitly in
the co.rse of st.'ying the nor&al school c.rric.l.&/
Ahether thinking skills are ta.ght thro.gh stan'alone co.rses or thro.gh (eing
,inf.se'- into re'esigne' s.(1ect lessons, a key concern of all s.ch work is to ens.re
that st.'ents ,transfer- the skills learne' in one conte*t to other conte*ts/ This will
involve ,(ri'ging- work, in other wor's e*%licitly ,teaching for transfer-/ Des%ite their
'ifferences, the key to nearly all ,thinking skills- %rogra&&es is ,&etacognition- "
thinking a(o.t one-s thinking/ They all re;.ire the %artici%ant to self"conscio.sly
a'o%t ,goo'- ways of thinking when face' with %ro(le&s of whatever kin'/ <or
e*a&%le, in the critical thinking tra'ition, if yo. face a 'ecision, yo. nee' to ask
yo.rself ;.estions a(o.t o(1ectives, alternatives, conse;.ences, risks etc/ 0n the sa&e
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way, 8olya gives st.'ents key ;.estions to ask the&selves when face' with any
&athe&atical %ro(le&/
There are &any variations on the the&es &entione' a(ove an' so&e of these will (e
'isc.sse' (elow/ There is also growing evi'ence of the effectiveness of &any of these
%rogra&&es in 'elivering i&%rove' st.'ent %erfor&ance an' this is also given (elow/
. !hat "rom#ts Thinking Skills "rogrammes$
The (asic &otivation for all 'evelo%&ents in the ,thinking skills- tra'ition has always
(een &.ch the sa&e, whatever the 'etails of the res.lting %rogra&&e/ 6ere are fo.r,
rather 'ifferent, e*a&%les/
(2/$) @atthew )i%&an, was a 'isting.ishe' 8rofessor of 8hiloso%hy in
Col.&(ia University in New Bork in the ?C>s/ 6e (eca&e increasingly
fr.strate' (eca.se he fo.n' that his .niversity st.'ents lacke' a n.&(er of
(asic thinking skills, like the a(ility to constr.ct an arg.&ent, to clarify i'eas,
to see things fro& others- %oints of view an' the like/ 6e was also convince'
that it was too late to change their thinking ha(its at the .niversity level so he
'esigne' the 8hiloso%hy for Chil'ren 8rogra&&e which ai&s to teach these
an' other thinking skills to schoolchil'ren age' ! " $! ()i%&an ($4=) ($44$))
This is a stan'"alone %rogra&&e " in which thinking skills are ta.ght
se%arately fro& nor&al school s.(1ects/
(2/2) The i&%et.s for the CA+E (Cognitive Acceleration thro.gh +cience
E'.cation %rogra&&e) ca&e fro& a s.rvey of $:, %.%ils in :! schools in
Englan' an' Aales, which showe' that only $?D of $? year ol's were
showing evi'ence of even early ,for&al o%erational thinking- (a f.n'a&ental
i'ea of 8iaget-s)/ +ince this kin' of thinking is re;.ire' to .n'erstan' how to
test hy%otheses effectively, to 1.'ge critically (etween the &erits of two
arg.&ents or to co%e with %ro%ortionality, the i&%lication was clear " that the
vast &a1ority of %.%ils cannot think at the level re;.ire' for the science
c.rric.l.& (or in'ee' &any other areas) (cf @c7.inness (($444) %/$2)/ CA+E
is a %rogra&&e where the teaching of thinking skills is e&(e''e' in the
teaching of s.(1ect &atter, na&ely the science c.rric.l.& for $2"$# year ol's
(see A'ey an' +hayer ($44:))
(2/#) R.e(en <e.erstein create' his 0nstr.&ental Enrich&ent (0E) %rogra&&e,
which was initially 'evelo%e' nearly ! years ago, e*%licitly to hel% overco&e
the thinking 'eficiencies in c.lt.rally 'isa'vantage', low"%erfor&ing 0sraeli
a'olescents, &any of who ha' (een tra.&atise' (y their early e*%eriences
'.ring an' after the +econ' Aorl' Aar/ Des%ite its 'istinctive origins,
0nstr.&ental Enrich&ent, which is a stan'alone %rogra&&e, or %rogra&&es
'erive' fro& it, are now wi'ely .se' with a &.ch wi'er range of a(ilities an'
ages, often with s.ccessf.l res.lts (<e.erstein et al ($4=))/
(2/:) 7eorg 8olya, hi&self a (rilliant &athe&atician an' teacher, notice' that
his st.'ents (even at +tanfor' University) 'i'n-t know how to solve .nfa&iliar
%ro(le&s/ 6e (eca&e convince' that, altho.gh they knew a lot of
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&athe&atics, they 'i'n-t know how to 'irect their own tho.ght %rocesses in
ways that co.l' (e fr.itf.l/ They 'i'n-t realise that there are strategies for
solving &athe&atical %ro(le&s/ That lea' hi& to write How to Solve It (an'
so&e other (ooks) which e*%lain what he calls heuristic strategies for solving
%ro(le&s/ Tho.gh teaching 8olya"ty%e %ro(le& solving he.ristics is not
greatly in fashion at the &o&ent, &any .niversity teachers refer their st.'ents
to How to Solve It at so&e stage (8olya ($4:!))/
+i&ilar stories lie (ehin' the work of nearly all those who have contri(.te' to the
'evelo%&ent of the thinking skills tra'ition/ They notice so&e 'eficiency in the
thinking of their st.'ents an' 'evise so&e teaching interventions which ai& at
'irectly a''ressing those thinking 'eficiencies " ie at teaching thinking e*%licitly an'
'irectly/ 5f co.rse, 'ifferent original concerns can lea' to ;.ite 'ifferent e'.cational
%ro%osals " often for st.'ents at 'ifferent stages of intellect.al 'evelo%&ent an' in
very 'ifferent conte*ts/
6owever the res.lting %rogra&&es have si&ilar o(1ectives (to teach thinking skills
'irectly) an' .s.ally have other si&ilarities too, for e*a&%le, as we sai' a(ove, the
key to nearly all of the& is ,&eta"cognition- " thinking a(o.t one-s thinking an'
e*%licitly trying to 'irect one-s thinking to follow so&e goo' &o'el/ (To e*%lain with
an analogy9 1.st as yo. can try to i&%rove yo.r golf swing (a &otor skill) (y self
conscio.sly trying to swing like Tiger Aoo's, so yo. can i&%rove yo.r skill in
'ecision &aking (y self conscio.sly trying to follow a goo' 'ecision &aking &o'el "
an' si&ilarly with other thinking skills)/ Another co&&on ele&ent is %ractice9 1.st
like any other skills, the way to 'evelo% thinking skills is to start with easy tasks an'
to %ractice the skill in &ore an' &ore co&%le* sit.ations/
The thinking skills tra'ition arg.es that thinking skills can (e ta.ght an' should (e
ta.ght/ <.rther&ore, it is clai&e', these skills are transferable i/e/, if st.'ents learn
general thinking skills in one conte*t, they will (e a(le to (an' act.ally will) a%%ly
the& to &any other conte*ts, %rovi'e' the teaching s%ecifically ai&s at s.ch transfer/
Critics of the thinking skills tra'ition &ost co&&only challenge this transfera(ility
clai&/ The &ost fa&o.s a'vocate of this o%%osition is 3ohn @c8eck in his !ritical
Thinking and "ducation ($4=$)/ Rather than res%on'ing to his arg.&ents 'irectly we
shall review the evi'ence for (elieving that ,teaching thinking- can 'eliver what it
%ro&ises/
%. !hat is the E&idence on Teaching Thinking$
There is e*tensive evi'ence ((oth in the U2 an' elsewhere) that thinking skills can (e
'evelo%e' thro.gh 'irect an' e*%licit teaching, that they contri(.te to i&%rove'
%erfor&ance in a wi'e range of s.(1ect areas an' that transfer 'oes occ.r .n'er the
right circ.&stances/
+o&e of the &ost striking evi'ence co&es fro& the work of 8hili% A'ey an' @ichael
+hayer on their CA+E (Cognitive Acceleration Thro.gh +cience E'.cation) %ro1ect/
0n this %ro1ect, which (.il's on 8iaget-s work, thinking skills are ta.ght to $2"$# year
ol' %.%ils over a %erio' of two years in caref.lly re'esigne' National C.rric.l.&
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science lessons/ The res.lts are f.lly 'oc.&ente' in A'ey an' +hayer ($44:)/ 0n
short they show re&arka(le evi'ence that st.'ents who receive' this teaching 'i' far
(etter in their s.(se;.ent 7C+E e*a&inations than control gro.%s of st.'ents who 'i'
not (on average, they o(taine' a whole gra'e higher)/ <.rther&ore, not only 'i' they
'o (etter in their science e*a&inations, (.t they also 'i' significantly (etter in their
other 7C+E e*a& s.(1ects, so transfer ha' occ.rre' across a wi'e range of s.(1ects/
0nterestingly, when st.'ents who ha' receive' CA+E teaching were teste'
i&&e'iately after the CA+E %rogra&&e, they showe' relatively little i&%rove&ent
over the control gro.%s, (.t the 7C+E res.lts s.ggest that the thinking skills
interventions take ti&e to have their effect/ <eat.res of the %rogra&&e which are key
to its s.ccess are liste' (y A'ey an' +hayer in ($44:) cha%ter : an' incl.'e the
i&%ortance of ,&eta"cognition- an' teaching for transfer (,(ri'ging-), (oth of which
are i&%ortant to the other %rogra&&es &entione' a(ove/
The &ost recent U2 evi'ence on the effectiveness of teaching thinking skills co&es
fro& researchers in the Centre for )earning an' Teaching, Newcastle University
(6iggins, + an' 6all, E (2:))/ They con'.cte' a ,&eta"st.'y-, looking at h.n're's
of %.(lishe' %a%ers re%orting ,thinking skills- interventions with school %.%ils age' !"
$?/ The st.'y investigate' the ,;.antitative i&%act of thinking skills interventions on
(i) %.%ils- cognitive achieve&ent, (ii) %.%ils- c.rric.l.& attain&ent, an' (iii) %.%il-s
affective states- (eg/, &otivation an' engage&ent)/ The a.thors e*%ecte' that
,intervention effects wo.l' (e %ositive, since the vast &a1ority of e'.cational
innovations have a %ositive effect- (.t they were %artic.larly intereste' in whether the
effect siEes ,wo.l' e*cee' the /: level cite' (y 6attie (6attie et al ($44?)) as the
average intervention siEe effect fro& his &eta"analysis of 2, effect siEes-/ 7iven
that his st.'y incl.'e' interventions with effect siEes ranging fro& /? to over $
6attie consi'ers that /! is a &ini&.& for an intervention to (e consi'ere'
,e'.cationally significant- (for an e*%lanation of the notion of ,effect siEe- see (elow,
this %age, an' the A%%en'i* %/$=)
Tho.gh the Newcastle researchers reviewe' h.n're's of %.(lishe' %a%ers, they
restricte' their &eta"st.'y to ones in which control gro.%s ha' (een .se' an' effect
siEes were (or co.l' (e) ;.antifie'/ There were # of these an' the res.lts are
s.&&arise' as followsF
,Analysis of these st.'ies in'icate that thinking skills a%%roaches are effective
in i&%roving %.%ils- learning/ A &eta"analysis of this i&%act fo.n' an overall
effect siEe of />$ on cognitive &eas.res (s.ch as tests of reasoning or non"
ver(al &eas.res s.ch as Ravens 8rogressive &atrices) an' an effect siEe of
/?? for c.rric.l.& o.tco&es (s.ch as &athe&atics or science tests)/ These
effect siEes in'icate that an ,average- class of %.%ils who receive' s.ch
interventions wo.l' &ove fro& !
th
%lace in a rank of $ si&ilar classes to
a(o.t 2?
th
on c.rric.l.& tests an' to a(o.t 2:
th
%lace on cognitive &eas.res/-
,The i'entification of ,thinking skills- has i'entifie' a collection of research
st.'ies which have an a(ove average i&%act on learning o.tco&es/ This
s.ggests that teachers- interest an' enth.sias& for s.ch a%%roaches is well"
fo.n'e' G as s.ch a%%roaches ten' to have a %ositive effect, over an' a(ove
what yo. wo.l' .s.ally e*%ect fro& an e'.cational intervention/-
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(6iggins an' 6all (22) %/4)
There is also e*tensive evi'ence fro& the Unite' +tates, involving a si&ilar &eta"
st.'y &etho'ology (@arEano et al ($44=))/ This evi'ence shows that a'o%ting
a%%roaches which &ake thinking e*%licit, or which foc.s on %artic.lar kin's of
thinking, are s.ccessf.l at raising attain&ent, %artic.larly those (ase' on
&etacognitive a%%roaches or cognitively 'e&an'ing interventions s.ch as %ro(le&
solving an' hy%othesis testing (cf/, 6iggins an' 6all (2:) %/$$)
The evi'ence cite' here shows that significant e'.cational gains are possible fro&
teaching thinking skills/ 5f co.rse, these %ositive res.lts show what can (e 'one " (.t
it is e;.ally o(vio.s that ,teaching thinking- can (e 'one %oorly an' ineffectively/
Carol @c7.inness, in her DfE+ Research Re%ort ($444) s%ells so&e of the con'itions
for s.ccess in this kin' of teaching as follows,
,//the general fra&ework Hof i'eas for 'evelo%ing thinking skillsI now
incl.'esF the nee' to &ake thinking skills e*%licit in the c.rric.l.&9 teaching
thro.gh a for& of coaching9 taking a &etacognitive %ers%ective9 colla(orative
learning (incl.'ing co&%.ter"&e'iate' learning)9 creating 'is%ositions an'
ha(its of goo' thinking9 Han'I generalising the fra&ework to thinking
c.rric.la, thinking classroo&s an' thinking schools/- (%/$)
<.rther&ore, whatever a%%roach is a'o%te', HitI &.st &a*i&ise transfer, that is, a'o%t
strategies (eg (ri'ging, 'eli(erate teaching for transfer) which ens.re that learning
transfers (eyon' the conte*t in which it is learne'/
5f co.rse, even %ositive res.lts like those cite' a(ove nee' to (e inter%rete' with
ca.tion/ This is %artly (eca.se of the 'ifferences in the thinking skills %rogra&&es
incl.'e' in the st.'ies an' %artly (eca.se a &eta"st.'y is only as goo' as its
contri(.ting st.'ies/ 6owever, the i&%ortant %oint is that there are &any st.'ies now
giving incontroverti(le evi'ence that ,thinking skills- interventions can (e very
effective in raising stan'ar's/ (An' %oor ;.ality interventions can o(sc.re this
evi'ence, as note' in the %en.lti&ate %aragra%h of section >/)
'. !h( Assess Thinking Skills )or *ni&ersit( Admission $
No 'o.(t the evi'ence 1.st o.tline' will (e welco&e in .niversities for its own sake,
(.t there is another reason why work on thinking skills is interesting to the&/
Universities want to a'&it those st.'ents who will (e &ost s.ccessf.l on their
co.rses/ 0n or'er to 'o this, they nee' infor&ation which hel%s the& 1.'geC%re'ict
how well a%%licants are likely to 'o once they are a'&itte' " how well they are
e;.i%%e' to co%e with the s%ecial 'e&an's of .niversity work an' of %artic.lar
co.rses/
The UCA+ for& gives .niversity a'&ission officers ;.ite a lot of infor&ation a(o.t
st.'ents- a(ility to work har' an' learn &aterial in given s.(1ect areas fro& their A
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level res.lts (either %re'icte' or known)/ 0n'ee', A level res.lts have (een the &ain
'eter&inant of .niversity a'&ission ever since they were first intro'.ce' in $4!$/
A'&issions officers also have infor&ation fro& hea'"teachers re%orts (on the UCA+
for&) an' %erha%s fro& interviews (which are notorio.sly .nrelia(le, tho.gh few
.niversities research the relia(ility of their interviews)/ +o&eti&es they set their own
tests, tho.gh these are .s.ally s.(1ect &atter tests (like +TE8 %a%ers taken for
a'&ission to &athe&atics in Ca&(ri'ge an' so&e other .niversities)/
7iven these so.rces of infor&ation, &any .niversity a'&issions are 'eci'e'
reasona(ly straightforwar'ly/ 6owever, in recent years there has (een a tre&en'o.s
increase in the n.&(er of .niversity a%%licants who have very goo' A"level res.lts/
As a res.lt, increasing n.&(ers of .niversities an' co.rses have (een face' with the
%ro(le& of choosing (etween ,too &any- goo' a%%licants an' their &etho's have
generate' consi'era(le controversy/ +o, how &ight this (e 'one (oth skilf.lly an'
fairlyJ
0f one talks to a'&issions officers who are face' with choosing (etween ,very a(le-
a%%licants, they co&&only say so&ething like the following,
,5f co.rse o.r can'i'ates are very goo' at learning what their teachers tell
the& (they have or are %re'icte' to get very goo' A"level res.lts), (.t they fall
into two gro.%s when yo. ask the& ;.estions o.tsi'e what they have ,'one for
A"level-, ;.estions which re;.ire the& to show how they think in s.ch
sit.ations/ +o&e can'i'ates si&%ly flo.n'er " they haven-t ,'one it- so they
have little to say a(o.t it/ 5thers welco&e s.ch ;.estions9 they are rea'y to
think a(o.t %ossi(le sol.tions, will talk aro.n' the %ro(le&, try 'ifferent
a%%roaches " an' so on/ They show a rea'iness to think on their own acco.nt
an' they know how to 'o that/ These are the ones we want to a'&it/-
To %.t the %oint 'ifferently, when st.'ents &ove fro& school to a .niversity, &any
will fin' that they have to think a great 'eal for the&selves/ University teachers will
ass.&e a whole range of thinking skills " an a(ility to arg.e a case, to solve %ro(le&s,
to 1.'ge cre'i(ility, an' &.ch &ore/ 5ther things (eing e;.al, st.'ents will %erfor&
(etter at .niversity if they have (een ta.ght these skills e*%licitly an' know how to
'e%loy the& in novel sit.ations/
0 have ta.ght (oth critical thinking an' &athe&atical %ro(le& solving skills at
.niversity level/ After s.ch co.rses, 0 have often (een s.r%rise' (y the n.&(er of
st.'ents who say so&ething like,
,Now 0 .n'erstan' what 0 a& s.%%ose' to (e 'oing when 0 write an
arg.&entative essay (or try to solve an .nfa&iliar %ro(le&)9 &y gra'es have
i&%rove' significantly9 (.t why on earth was 0 not ta.ght this kin' of thing at
schoolJ 0t is not rocket science, (.t it is so hel%f.l/-
There is no 'o.(t that these ,thinking skills- are teacha(le (tho.gh not co&&only
ta.ght), hel%f.l (es%ecially in the &o'ern worl' where knowle'ge (eco&es o(solete
so ;.ickly an' what is nee'e' is %eo%le who are goo' at thinking things thro.gh for
the&selves), e*a&ina(le (5CRC C0E are alrea'y 'oing this ;.ite e*tensively) an' the
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kin's of things .niversity a'&issions officers are looking for (.t receive little
infor&ation a(o.t fro& the UCA+ for&/
Th.s, an assess&ent of s.ita(le ,thinking skills- co.l' (e 1.st what .niversity
a'&issions officers are looking for if they are face' with the %ro(le& of too &any a(le
a%%licants/ At %resent, .niversities have no 'irect infor&ation a(o.t how goo'
a%%licants are at thinking things through on their own account " at tackling novel
sit.ations of 1.st the kin' they will often enco.nter in .niversity an' s.(se;.ently/
This a(ility is 1.st what the new Thinking +kills Assess&ent ai&s to &eas.re/
Aorking (ack fro& what st.'ents have to 'o in .niversity, it see&s reasona(le to
ass.&e that a relia(le &eas.re of this a(ility co.l' (e very hel%f.l in the a'&issions
%rocess an' evi'ence is (eginning to e&erge to s.%%ort this view (Aill&ott 2!)/
+. ,easuring Intelligence &ersus Assessing Thinking Skills.
#i) Intelligence and the Scholastic $ptitude Test #S$T)
Aork on measuring ,intelligence- is .s.ally trace' (ack to the %ioneering work of the
<rench %sychologist, Alfre' Binet (see Binet an' +i&on ($4$?))/ This work was taken
.% an' 'evelo%e' in the U+ in the 2s an' #s (y +tanfor' 8rofessor )ewis Ter&an
an' 6arvar' %rofessor Ro(ert Berkes/ 0n this tra'ition, ,intelligence- is .s.ally taken
to (e a fairly fi*e' en'ow&ent an' intelligence tests are taken to assess so&ething
fi*e'/ 5f co.rse, intelligence 'evelo%s over ti&e " as one grows ol'er " (.t an
in'ivi'.al-s %osition in any overall ranking is likely to re&ain &.ch the sa&e at
'ifferent ages/ As a corollary, on this conce%tion it is not tho.ght %ossi(le to
significantly ,i&%rove- one-s level of intelligence thro.gh teaching/
By contrast, the thinking skills tra'ition (elieves that &any of the skills co&&only
i'entifie' with intelligence can (e ta.ght an' 'evelo%e' (y 'irect teaching of the right
kin'/
Th.s, there are ;.ite 'ifferent views a(o.t cognitive 'evelo%&ent .n'erlying the two
tra'itions an', as we saw in section #, there is &o.nting evi'ence that the ,thinking
skills- tra'ition is on the right track " that %erfor&ance of school %.%ils can (e
consi'era(ly i&%rove' (y teaching thinking skills " that it is %ossi(le to ,really raise
stan'ar's- in this way/
<ollowing in the tra'ition of Binet-s work, an instr.&ent, calle' the +cholastic
A%tit.'e test (+AT), was 'evelo%e' in the Unite' +tates, to hel% with the %rocess of
.niversity a'&issions/ 0ts 'evelo%&ent (egan in $42? (.t it (eca&e wi'ely .se' after
the secon' Aorl' Aar, when a'&issions to higher e'.cation in the U+ were greatly
e*%an'e'/ 0t is now calle' the +cholastic Assess&ent Test an' has (een well"
esta(lishe' for over ? years/
The %ro(le& face' (y colleges in the Unite' +tates was that there has never (een
anything like the U2 National C.rric.l.& or national e*a&inations like the U2 A"
levels, so how sho.l' they co&%are a%%licants fro& 'ifferent +tates, with 'ifferent
c.rric.la, 'ifferent e*a&inations an' 'ifferent stan'ar'sJ The +AT was 'esigne' as
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an ,o(1ective- &eas.re of ,intelligence- (seen as a fairly fi*e' en'ow&ent), which
wo.l' (e a goo' in'icator of aca'e&ic a%tit.'e an' which co.l' greatly assist
a'&issions officers in North A&erican .niversities/
0t has long (een 'esigne' to &eas.re' two a(ilities, ,ver(al reasoning- an'
,&athe&atical reasoning-, which are seen as
(i) 'evelo%e' a(ilities which grow slowly over the years,
(ii) relatively in'e%en'ent of what the st.'ent is c.rrently learning in the
classroo& an'
(iii) general aca'e&ic skills necessary for s.ccessf.l college work/
The +AT is wi'ely .se' in the Unite' +tates an' elsewhere (eg Cana'a, +we'en an'
0srael) to %rovi'e supplementary %re'ictive infor&ation in the college a'&ission
%rocess/ 0t is co&(ine' with the 7ra'e 8oint Average to %re'ict %erfor&ance an' its
%re'ictive vali'ity is .s.ally &eas.re' in ter&s of %erfor&ance one year after
a'&ission/ (An' there are now several si&ilar instr.&ents .se' for si&ilar %.r%oses,
incl.'ing the 7ra'.ate Recor' E*a&ination (7RE), the )aw +chools A'&ission Test
()+AT) an' others/)
#ii) Thinking Skills and the Thinking Skills $ssessment #TS$)
Arising o.t of the thinking skills tra'ition, instr.&ents calle' the Bio&e'ical
A'&issions Test (B@AT), a &e'ical an' veterinary schools entrance test, an' the
&ore general Thinking +kills Assess&ent (T+A) have (een 'evelo%e' (y UC)E+,
also to hel% with the %rocess of .niversity a'&issions/ These tests have (een
'evelo%e' on the (asis of the work 'one (y UC)E+ on assessing thinking skills over
the %ast 2! years (see Aill&ott (2!))/
The %ro(le& face' (y so&e .niversities in the U2 an' for which these instr.&ents
were 'esigne' is ;.ite 'ifferent fro& the %ro(le& for which the +AT was 'esigne' in
the U+/ 0n short, the %ro(le& in the U2 is to 'ifferentiate (etween very large n.&(ers
of can'i'ates with si&ilar an' e*cellent A level res.lts/ The T+A an' the B@AT are
'esigne' to assist a'&issions officers in British .niversities face' (y ,over"
s.(scri%tion- in 'iscri&inating skilf.lly an' fairly (etween s.ch can'i'ates/
The Thinking +kills Assess&ent is c.rrently 'esigne' to &eas.re two skills, ,critical
thinking- an' ,%ro(le& solving-, which are seen as
(i) skillsCa(ilities which are teachable " (with significant %ay"off for A levels
an' .niversity work)
(ii) skills which can (e 'evelo%e' thro.gh s%ecial a%%roaches to s.(1ect &atter
teaching or thro.gh stan'"alone co.rses
(iii) generalCtransfera(le aca'e&ic skills which are vital to s.ccessf.l
.niversity work
The T+A is c.rrently (eing %ilote' (y 22 colleges in ! 'isci%lines in the University of
Ca&(ri'ge/ 0t %rovi'es supplementary %re'ictive infor&ation in the college
a'&ission %rocess/ +cores are co&(ine' with A"level scores to %re'ict %erfor&ance
an' the %re'ictive vali'ity of (oth tests is (eing &eas.re' in ter&s of %erfor&ance one
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year after a'&ission/ The B@AT also has a thinking skills co&%onent an' it is
c.rrently (eing .se' (y fac.lties in five lea'ing .niversites/ <or &ore 'etails an'
evi'ence on their .tility see Aill&ott (2!)

-. Thinking Skills Assessment TSA/ or Scholastic Assessment Test
.SAT/ $
As we arg.e' in the %revio.s section, so&e e*tra infor&ation a(o.t st.'ents- thinking
skills co.l' (e of great assistance in the a'&ission %rocess in British .niversities/
+o&e %eo%le have s.ggeste' that the North A&erican +cholastic Assess&ent Test
(+AT) co.l' (e .se' to %rovi'e that e*tra infor&ation/ B.t this wo.l' (e a &istake,
for several reasonsF
(i/ The British an' North A&erican e'.cational syste&s are very 'ifferent/ 0n
%artic.lar, there is nothing akin to the National C.rric.l.& in the U+ an' each
of the ! +tates has its own c.rric.la an' +tate e*a&inations/ As a res.lt,
there are no national e*a&inations like o.r A"levels/
(ii) <.rther&ore, a'&ission to .niversity in North A&erica is nor&ally to the
first year of a fo.r year co.rse, where the first year teaching is (roa'er an'
&ore general in nat.re than the first year of &ost British .niversity co.rses,
which are &ore s%ecialise'/ 0n that conte*t, far &ore st.'ents will change
'irection or leave .niversity '.ring an' at the en' of the first year in North
A&erica than ha%%ens here/
(iii) Beca.se there are no national e*a&inations like A levels in North
A&erica, the %ro(le& face' (y a'&issions officers in the instit.tions of
higher e'.cation in the U+ is how to co&%are the ;.alifications of a%%licants
fro& a h.ge variety of (ackgro.n's/ The +AT is 'esigne' to 'eal with this
%ro(le&/ Th.s, it ai&s to %rovi'e an ,o(1ective- stan'ar' with which to
weigh 'ifferent stan'ar's which &ight (e a%%lie' in 'ifferent schools, in
'ifferent +tates across a large an' very 'iverse co.ntry/
(iv) 0n Britain, the %ro(le& for instit.tions of higher e'.cation is ;.ite
'ifferent/ A levels have e*iste' since $4!$9 they are national e*a&inations
which are very well esta(lishe' " an' are (ase' on national c.rric.la/
A'&ission to British .niversities has (een 'eci'e' &ainly on the (asis of
%erfor&ance in these e*a&inations ever since they were first intro'.ce'/ @ost
.niversity a'&issions are 'eci'e' ;.ite straightforwar'ly on the (asis of
%re'icte' A"level gra'es an' the 6ea'"teacher-s re%ort %rovi'e' on the UCA+
for&/ 6owever, increasing n.&(ers of .niversities an' co.rses nee' to
'iscri&inate (etween ,too &any- a(le a%%licants/ Th.s, in the U2, the
%ro(le& is to fin' a &etho' of 'ifferentiating skilf.lly an' fairly (etween
can'i'ates with very high A"level scores/
(v) The +AT is 'esigne' for the North A&erican e'.cational conte*t/
E'.cational Testing +ervice, who %ro'.ces it, works very closely with
e'.cational instit.tions to ens.re that it &eets their nee's/ 0t is .nlikely to
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%rovi'e an ,off the %eg- instr.&ent to hel% selection in the very 'ifferent U2
conte*t, where the %ro(le& to (e a''resse' is 'ifferent/
(vi) 5ne of the &ost i&%ortant 'ifferences (etween the +AT an' the T+A is
that the skills assesse' in the T+A are teacha(le skills which are val.a(le in
higher e'.cation/ The +AT on the other han' has long clai&e' to &eas.re
,innate- or ,native- a(ility/ 5f co.rse, it is well known that can'i'ates can (e
,coache'- to 'o (etter on the +AT than they wo.l' witho.t s.ch %ractice/
Clearly, can'i'ates taking any test will (enefit fro& 'oing si&ilar tests
(.s.ally %ast test %a%ers), which show the str.ct.re of the test an' the kin' of
;.estions it contains/ 6owever, &ost of the strategies for getting higher &arks
on the +AT 'o not involve gaining &ore knowle'ge or skills that will (enefit
st.'ents in the 6E co.rses to which they as%ire/ They si&%ly involve learning
what to look for in the test an' how to .se its str.ct.re to the can'i'ate-s
a'vantage/ By contrast, learning thinking skills lea's to the enhance&ent of
st.'ents- %erfor&ance in all %arts of the c.rric.l.& as well as %re%aring the&
to get the (est fro& 6igher E'.cation/ <.rther&ore, s.ch st.'y will %ay
'ivi'en's in (ringing can'i'atesK thinking skills .% to a s.ita(le level for the
%.r%oses of B@AT or T+A/
(vii) The +AT is co&&only criticise' for the effect it has on the attit.'es of
st.'ents to e'.cation " that it 'eval.es real e'.cation, etc/ This is not tr.e of
teaching an' assessing thinking skills/
(viii)/ Thinking +kills assess&ents are also .sef.l in (eing a(le to screen o.t
those that have (een ,cra&&e'- for a knowle'ge"(ase' test (.t 'o have the
re;.ire' level of thinking skill an' are th.s not likely to s.ccee' at a selective
fac.lty/ They &ight also s.%%ly .sef.l infor&ation a(o.t those witho.t
,stan'ar'- ,A- )evels/
To s.&&ariseF the +AT is very well s.ite' to the North A&erican conte*t an' the
%ro(le&s it faces/ The British conte*t an' %ro(le&s are ;.ite 'ifferent/
0. !hat is Critical Thinking $
The thinking skills assesse' in the B@AT an' T+A instr.&ents intro'.ce' a(ove are
,critical thinking- an' ,%ro(le& solving-/ 0t is ti&e to e*%lain how these are
conceive'/ A key reason for 'oing this is that these assess&ents of thinking skills are
inten'e' to have a ,face vali'ity- for .niversity aca'e&ics (es%ecially those involve'
in the a'&issions %rocess)/ That is to say the ;.estions are inten'e' to look like the
kin's of ;.estions st.'ents nee' to a''ress in .niversity work an' %erha%s si&ilar to
the sorts of ;.estions a'&issions officers wo.l' like to %.t to can'i'ates in interview
%recisely to see how well they think in .nfa&iliar sit.ations, when facing novel
%ro(le&s/
The thinking skills which are ta.ght in the critical thinking tra'ition incl.'e arg.ing a
case, 'ecision"&aking, %ro(le& solving, e*%laining ca.ses, eval.ating, co&%aring an'
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contrasting, 1.'ging cre'i(ility, clarifying an' inter%reting i'eas an' &any other
,higher or'er- thinking skills (cf Bloo& (e') ($4!?) for an acco.nt of ,higher or'er-
thinking)/
0n the U2, the L.alifications an' C.rric.l.& A.thority has esta(lishe' ,s.(1ect
criteria- for critical thinking teaching an' e*a&inations an' these say that A+ level
s%ecifications sho.l' re;.ire st.'ents toF
.n'erstan' the lang.age of reasoning
clarify e*%ressions an' i'eas
i'entify reasons an' concl.sions
recognise an' eval.ate 'ifferent kin's of clai&s
1.'ge the cre'i(ility of so.rces
.n'erstan' an' .se 'ifferent %atterns of reasoning as well as 'ifferent
stan'ar's for eval.ating arg.&ents
recognise an' eval.ate s%ecial kin's of reasoningF ca.sal e*%lanations,
1.stifying 'ecisions, reasoning fro& 'ifferent %oints of view, (asic ethical
reasoning
recognise ass.&%tions
%resent relevant arg.&ents
.n'erstan' (asic for&s of statistical reasoning a%%ro%riate to infor&e'
citiEens/
0n a''ition, A level st.'ents sho.l' (e a(le toF
eval.ate rhetorical an' %ers.asive lang.age, incl.'ing so&e classic
fallacies
.n'erstan' for&s of statistical reasoning a%%ro%riate to infor&e' citiEens
.n'erstan' an' .se feat.res of hy%othetical reasoning s.ch as for e*a&%le
what if, s.%%ositional reasoning, testing hy%otheses
i'entify an' eval.ate ethical arg.&ents, &aking reference to %rinci%les
recognise an' a%%ly so&e (asic logical i'eas, s.ch as for e*a&%le
e*cl.'e' &i''le, converse, contra'iction, consistent, circ.larity, co.nter
e*a&%le, necessary an' s.fficient con'itions, i&%lyCentail, generalisation
.se i&ages, sy&(ols an' other non"ver(al sti&.li in reasoning s.ch as for
e*a&%le those in news re%orting, a'vertising, %olitical an' si&ilar
cartoons/
0t is not 'iffic.lt to see fro& s.ch a list that these are skills which are f.n'a&ental to
&any intellect.al activities an' are also skills which are taken for grante' in &any
.niversity co.rses/ Th.s, on the face of it, if one co.l' get relia(le infor&ation a(o.t
a%%licants- critical thinking skills, this infor&ation co.l' (e very relevant in the
.niversity a'&ission %rocess/
The critical thinking tra'ition is now very well esta(lishe'/ 3ohn Dewey ($44) is
.s.ally regar'e' as the fo.n'er of this tra'ition, (.t &any other scholars have &a'e
i&%ortant contri(.tions/ E'war' 7laser con'.cte' the first scientific e*%eri&ent to
see if critical thinking skills co.l' (e ta.ght ($4:$) an' was res%onsi(le for the
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%atson Glaser !ritical Thinking $ppraisal, still the &ost wi'ely .se' test of critical
thinking in the worl'/ Ro(ert Ennis (($4!=)an' ($44?)) has &a'e &any i&%ortant
contri(.tions, as have +criven ($4>?), +wartE ($44=), Costa (2$) an' &any others
in the last # years/ 0n the Unite' +tates, st.'ent reaction to the Mietna& Aar is
wi'ely cre'ite' with giving i&%et.s to the teaching of critical thinking in .niversities
an' elsewhere (hence 2ahane ($4>?))/ +t.'ents 'e&an'e' instr.ction in how to
co&(at (a' reasoning an' how to constr.ct goo' arg.&ents " hence the 'evelo%&ent
of &any co.rses clai&ing to teach ,critical thinking-/
Des%ite all this goo' work, it is i&%ortant to note however that when so&ething like
critical thinking (eco&es ,fashiona(le-, as it has in the Unite' +tates in the %ast two
'eca'es, %oor ;.ality teaching an' testing (eco&es a serio.s %ro(le& an' risk
'iscre'iting the goo' work, so &eas.res of the effects of teaching critical thinking
(like other thinking skills) nee' to take this into acco.nt//
A&ong U2 organisations, UC)E+ has given a significant lea' in 'evelo%ing
assess&ents of critical thinking an' of %ro(le& solving skills/ The history of their
involve&ent goes (ack to the $4=s when they 'evise' a British version of the North
A&erican )aw +chools A'&ission Test to assist in selecting st.'ents to rea' )aw at
Ca&(ri'ge University/ 0n $44> they aske' Dr Alec <isher to 'esign a new A+ level
e*a&ination in critical thinking/ This was first %ilote' in $444 an' has (een ta.ght
an' e*a&ine' s.ccessf.lly ever since/ The n.&(er of st.'ents who took the
e*a&ination in 2: was $:,#$!/ UC)E+ has also ha' an A'vance' E*tension
Awar' since 22 an' the A+ is c.rrently (eing e*ten'e' to an A"level to (e first
ta.ght fro& +e%te&(er 2! an' first e*a&ine' in 3.ne 2?/
1. !hat is "ro2lem Sol&ing $
The (asic i'ea (ehin' this tra'ition is that reasoning an' thinking a(o.t n.&(ers,
sha%es, an' other ,&athe&atical- o(1ects an' str.ct.res is ;.ite 'ifferent fro& ver(al
reasoning (in the ,intelligence- tra'ition) or critical thinking (in the ,thinking skills-
tra'ition) an' nee's to (e 'ifferently ta.ght an' assesse'/ 0n the tra'ition which owes
so &.ch to 8olya, the kin' of %ro(le& solving with which are concerne' here incl.'es
the a(ility,
to rea' an' .n'erstan' &aterial with &athe&aticalC;.antitativeCgra%hical
content
to clarify an' inter%ret s.ch infor&ation when it is .nclear or a&(ig.o.s,
to eval.ate reasoning a(o.t s.ch infor&ation,
to i'entify ass.&%tions,
to i'entify co.nter"e*a&%les an' other flaws in reasoning,
to .n'erstan' 'ifferent logical relationshi%s (negation, i&%lication, ;.antifiers,
etc)
to constr.ct sol.tions to (.nfa&iliar) %ro(le&s which .se s.ch infor&ation,
to i'entify relevant or necessary infor&ation for solving a %ro(le&,
to 'ifferentiate (etween %ossi(le, necessary an' other logical relationshi%s,
to co&%.te, vis.alise an' esti&ate,
to fin' %roce'.res for solving an .nfa&iliar %ro(le&,
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to for&.late hy%otheses an' con1ect.res (e/g/, s.ggesting %atterns fro&
e*a&%les),
'raw concl.sions fro& given 'ata,
to write an' e*%ress the&selves .sing &athe&aticalC;.antitativeCgra%hical
i'eas/
(cf/ <isher (22) an' N<ER ($4>?) %/$2=)
Again, it is not 'iffic.lt to see that s.ch skills are f.n'a&ental to work in &any
sciences, social sciences, engineering an' other intellect.al activities/ They are also
skills which are taken for grante' in &any .niversity co.rses/ Th.s, on the face of it,
if one co.l' get relia(le infor&ation a(o.t a%%licants- %ro(le& solving skills, this
infor&ation co.l' (e very relevant in the .niversity a'&ission %rocess/
+o&e %eo%le wo.l' trace the ,%ro(le& solving- tra'ition (ack to Binet-s work on
&eas.ring intelligence/ B.t, insofar as we are s%eaking of a teacha(le skill, &ost
%eo%le who have worke' in this fiel' wo.l' i'entify 7eorg 8olya an' his (ook How
to Solve It (8olya ($4:!)) as the origin of this tra'ition/ 8olya-s work has since (een
taken .% (y vario.s &athe&atics e'.cators an' &.ch work has (een 'one in this
tra'ition, nota(ly (y the A&erican &athe&atics e'.cator, Alan +choenfel' (see, for
e*a&%le, his ($442))/ A goo' e*a&%le of British work in this fiel' is &roblem
Solving' The School (athematics &ro)ect *+,*- %.(lishe' (y Ca&(ri'ge University
8ress in $4=4 which re&ains a so.rce of e*cellent i'eas an' &aterial/
The critical thinking tra'ition incl.'es the skill of ,%ro(le& solving- (.t this is
nor&ally a non"&athe&atical kin' of %ro(le& solving, (like 'eci'ing which
.niversities to a%%ly to)/ +o this sho.l' not (e conf.se' with the ,;.antitative-
%ro(le& solving with which we are 'ealing here/
The UC)E+ Thinking +kills Assess&ent (T+A) sees the %ro(le& solving skills it
assesses as (eing ,%arallel- to critical thinking skills " (.t a(o.t n.&erical,
;.antitative an' s%atial 'ata or s.(1ect &atter/ Co&%arison of the two lists of skills
a(ove shows &any si&ilarities, tho.gh critical thinking .ses only or'inary lang.age
whilst %ro(le& solving .ses ,;.antitative- lang.age an' 'ifferent reasoning
techni;.es/ <or e*a&%le, a 'istinctive feat.re of the %ro(le& solving 'o&ain is that
the reasoning skills involve' are nearly all deducti&e reasoning skills, whereas in the
case of critical thinking 'e'.ctive reasoning is rare/
The ,%ro(le&s- in the T+A c.rrently fall into three gro.%s, calle' <in'ing 8roce'.res,
Relevant +election an' 0'entifying +i&ilarity (Aill&ott (2!) A%%en'ices, B an' C)
(.t the f.n'a&ental %oint a(o.t the& is that they are ,novel- %ro(le&s, of a kin'
st.'ents will not have enco.ntere' at school an' for which there is no rea'y ,off the
%eg- sol.tion/ To tackle these %ro(le&s, st.'ents will have to have %ro(le& solving
strategies availa(le to the& " of the kin' 8olya gives/
5f co.rse, &any .niversity co.rses have a&ong their a'&ission re;.ire&ents a %ass
in 7C+E or A level &athe&atics (%erha%s at %artic.lar gra'es), (eca.se they re;.ire
the content an' #ro2lem sol&ing skills of 7C+E or A level &athe&atics/ B.t, again,
it see&s reasona(le to ass.&e that s%ecific infor&ation a(o.t %ro(le& solving skills
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co.l' (e of hel% to a'&ission officers in &any .niversity fiel's, an' evi'ence to that
effect is (eginning to e&erge (Aill&ott (2!))/
8arallel to the case of testing critical thinking, testing %ro(le& solving skills co.l'
hel% a'&ission officers 'isting.ish (etween a%%licants who have (een well"'rille' to
%ass &athe&atics e*a&inations an' those who can solve ;.antitative %ro(le&s of a
novel, .nfa&iliar kin' who have a skill which is nee'e' in &any .niversity co.rses/
0ts %ro(le&s wo.l' re;.ire that the can'i'ate co.l' .se %ro(le& solving strategies an'
understood how to solve new kin's of %ro(le&s (at a given level)
Ahat is nee'e' now is cons.ltation with those for who& the T+A is inten'e',
es%ecially teachers in higher e'.cation, a(o.t the &athe&aticalC;.antitativeClogicalC
%ro(le& solving skills which are nee'e' in vario.s areas of aca'e&ic work with
reference to ;.estions of the ty%es 'isc.sse' a(ove/ As 0 sai' earlier, it is i&%ortant
that ;.estions have ,face vali'ity- for .niversity teachers/
Clearly, so&e .niversity s.(1ect areas re;.ire al&ost no %ro(le& solving skills of the
kin' o.tline' a(ove (e/g/, English )iterat.re)9 others re;.ire a relatively low level an'
others ;.ite a high level (e/g/, 8hysics, Co&%.ting)/
3. Summar( o) the Argument
There is a view a&ong &any involve' in e'.cation that st.'ents- thinking skills
si&%ly 'evelo% slowly an' fairly in'e%en'ently of what is (eing st.'ie' in their
nor&al school s.(1ects " history, %hysics etc/ The ,thinking skills- tra'ition arg.es
that these skills are (etter ta.ght explicitly an' that 'oing so can really raise
educational standards/
There are &any stran's in what has (eco&e known as the ,thinking skills- tra'ition,
incl.'ing the critical thinking an' problem solving tra'itions/ Thinking skills
%rogra&&es are nearly always %ro&%te' (y the realisation that st.'ents lack so&e
thinking a(ility an' are 'esigne' to re&e'y that 'eficiency (y teaching the skills in
;.estion explicitly an' directly.
The essential i'eas (ehin' nearly all of these %rogra&&es is ,metacognition- " self
conscio.sly 'irecting ones own thinking to (e &ore skilf.l " an' %ractice (1.st as one
can i&%rove a &otor skill, like a %laying golf)/
There is increasing evidence that thinking skills can (e 'evelo%e' thro.gh 'irect
teaching an' that they can significantly i&%rove %erfor&ance in or'inary school
s.(1ects/ An' this evi'ence is o.tline' a(ove, citing so&e i&%ortant so.rces/
These res.lts are welco&e to .niversities for their own sake, (.t are also of interest to
the& for another, &ore s%ecific, reason/ 0n recent years there has (een a tre&en'o.s
increase in the n.&(er of .niversity a%%licants with very goo' A"level res.lts/ Th.s,
increasing n.&(ers of .niversities an' co.rses have (een face' with the %ro(le& of
choosing fro& a&ong ,too &any- a(le can'i'ates an' their &etho's have generate'
consi'era(le controversy/ +o&e are now e*%eri&enting with tests of ,thinking skills-
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to %rovi'e the& with the e*tra infor&ation they nee' to &ake these choices wisely an'
fairly/
At %resent, can'i'ates- UCA+ for&s give a'&issions officers a great 'eal of
infor&ation, (.t %rovi'e no 'irect infor&ation a(o.t how goo' a%%licants are at
thinking things through on their own account " at tackling novel sit.ations of 1.st the
kin' they will often enco.nter in .niversity work/ Th.s, working (ackwar's fro&
what st.'ents will have to 'o in .niversity, it see&s entirely reasona(le to ass.&e that
a relia(le &eas.re of this a(ility co.l' (e very hel%f.l in the a'&issions %rocess an'
evi'ence is (eginning to e&erge to s.%%ort this view/
There is a ;.estion a(o.t what sho.l' (e assesse' (y s.ch tests/ +ho.l' they assess
.intelligence/, tho.ght of as (eing so&ething fairly fixed, like the North A&erican
+cholastic Assess&ent Test (+AT)J 5r sho.l' they assess ,thinking a(ility- seen as
(eing (oth teachable an' fundamental to success in university workJ
This %a%er arg.es that the +AT works very well in the North A&erican conte*t (.t is
not the instr.&ent for the 'ifferent %ro(le&s face' in the U2/ Ahat is re;.ire' here
is a test of thinking skills9 these are vital for s.ccess in .niversity, teaching the&
wo.l' raise stan'ar's an' assessing the& gives infor&ation not otherwise availa(le to
a'&issions officers/ Aorking (ack fro& the ,thinking skills- re;.ire' (y .niversity,
this %a%er arg.es that what is nee'e' is a test of ,critical thinking- an' ,%ro(le&
solving- (an' %erha%s others)/
These constr.cts are e*%laine' s.fficiently f.lly for .niversity teachers to see that they
are f.n'a&ental to s.ccess in &any .niversity co.rses/
As we have arg.e', these skills can (e ta.ght an' sho.l' (e ta.ght e*%licitly/ They
can i&%rove %erfor&ance in school s.(1ects an' are vital at the .niversity level/ The
UC)E+ Thinking +kills Assess&ent, which is (.ilt on 2! years work in this fiel', is
'esigne' to assess 1.st these thinking skills an' co.l' therefore %rovi'e val.a(le
infor&ation to hel% in the a'&ission %rocess of &any .niversities/ Evi'ence on this
instr.&ent is %.(lishe' in Aill&ott (2!)/
14. To Conclude
Thinking skills assess&ents of the right kin' co.l' (e val.a(le to British .niversities
in &aking a'&ission 'ecisions wisely an' fairly/ The B@AT an' the T+A are
alrea'y well"'evelo%e' an' evi'ence a(o.t their .tility is e&erging/ UC)E+ also
envisages %ro'.cing similar thinking skills assessments ((esi'es the T+A an'
B@AT) for other s.(1ects, in cons.ltation with intereste' aca'e&ics/ There is &.ch
work to (e 'one (.t this is an interesting 'evelo%&ent which 'eserves to (e taken
serio.sly an' followe' .%/
Dr Alec Fisher
Fe2ruar( 1-
th
44+.
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A##endi5 6 The notion o) e))ect si7e e5#lained
The general conce%t of ,effect siEe- 'erives fro& the school of &etho'ology calle'
&eta"analysis/ 0n o.r conte*t, the ter& refers to an increase or 'ecrease in the
achieve&ent of an e*%eri&ental gro.% (y co&%arison with a control gro.%9 the for&er
does an' the latter does not receive the e'.cational intervention in which we are
intereste'/
+.%%ose we are intereste' in the effect of teaching st.'ents critical thinking skills/
Then we i'entify a control gro.% " who have not (een ta.ght these skills " an' an
e*%eri&ental gro.% " who have " an' &eas.re the critical thinking skills of (oth
gro.%s/ 8rovi'e' the gro.%s are large eno.gh we wo.l' e*%ect the %ercentage scores
for (oth gro.%s to 'is%lay a ,nor&al 'istri(.tion- as shown in the 'iagra& (elowF
<ig.re $F scores a ,nor&ally 'istri(.te'- gro.% of st.'ents relative to their &ean
The 'iagra& ill.strates the fact that a nor&al 'istri(.tion has a range of a(o.t three
stan'ar' 'eviations a(ove the &ean score an' three (elow9 a(o.t #:D of st.'ents will
(e fo.n' within the first stan'ar' 'eviation a(ove the &ean, 4!D will (e fo.n' within
2 stan'ar' 'eviations a(ove an' (elow the &ean, etc/
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Ass.&ing the effect of teaching critical thinking skills is %ositive an' significantly so
we wo.l' e*%ect the scores in the two gro.%s to look so&ething like the 'iagra&
(elow, which ill.strates an effect siEe of a(o.t />!F
<ig.re 2F co&%aring two gro.%s
There are vario.s ways of co&%.ting effect siEes, (.t the (asic for&.la is9
(&ean of e*%eri&ental gro.%) " (&ean of control gro.%)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
stan'ar' 'eviation of control gro.%/
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Bi2liogra#h(
A'ey, 8/+/, +hayer, @ .133'/ 0eally 0aising Standards' !ognitive intervention and
academic achievement. )on'onF Ro.tle'ge
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(aterials of the !$S" &ro)ect )on'onF Tho&as Nelson an' +ons
Binet, A/, an' +i&on, T/ .131-/ The development of intelligence in children/
Balti&oreF Aillia&s an' Ailkins/ (Re%rinte' $4>#, New BorkF Arno 8ress9 incl.'es
re%rints of &any of Binet-s articles on testing)/
Blagg, N/, Ballinger, @/ an' 7ar'ner, R/ .1311/ Somerset Thinking Skills !ourse
Handbook 5*for'F Basil Blackwell
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educational goals , Handbook I' !ognitive 2omain. New BorkF @c2ay
Costa, A .441/ 2eveloping (inds' $ 0esource 3ook for Teaching Thinking (#
r'
e'ition) Ale*an'ria, MA/ Association for +.%ervision an' C.rric.l.& Develo%&ent
De Bono, E .130-/ Teaching Thinking/ )on'onF @a.rice Te&%le +&ith
De Bono, E .1310/ !o0T thinking programme' workcards and teachers/ notes
ChicagoF +cience Research Associates
Dewey, 3/ .1343/ How %e Think Boston, @AF D/C/ 6eath an' Co/
Ennis, R/ 6/ .13+1/ ,A Conce%t of Critical Thinking- Harvard "ducational 0eview
Mol/ #2, No/$, %%/=$"$$$
Ennis, R/ 6/ .133-/ !ritical Thinking New 3ersey9 8rentice 6all
<e.erstein, R/, Ran', B/, 6off&an, @/B an' @iller, R .1314/ Instrumental
"nrichment' an intervention programme for cognitive modifiability Balti&oreF @D
University 8ark 8ress/
<isher, A .441/ !ritical Thinking' $n Introduction Ca&(ri'geF Ca&(ri'ge
University 8ress
<isher, A .44/ Thinking Skills for the 4*
st
!entury. Ca&(ri'geF Ca&(ri'ge
0nternational E*a&inations
7ar'ner, 6 .133%/ (ultiple Intelligences' the Theory in &ractice. New BorkF Basic
Books/
7laser, E .13'1/ $n "xperiment in the 2evelopment of !ritical Thinking New BorkF
Teachers College, Col.&(ia University
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Inventory of "uropean programmes. UtrechtF +ARDE+
6attie, 3/, Biggs, 3/, an' 8.r'ie, N .133-) ,Effects of learning skills interventions on
st.'ent learningF A &eta"analysis-/ 0eview of "ducational 0esearch, ?? %%/44"$#?
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critically a(o.t +yste&atic Reviews, Narrative Reviews an' @eta"Analysis- 3"0$
!onference &aper, U@0+T +e%te&(er 2:
2ahane, 6 (133F ?
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e'ition) 5ogic and !ontemporary 0hetoric Bel&ont, CAF
Aa'sworth
)eat, D .1331/ (e') Thinking Through Geography Ca&(ri'geF Chris 2ingston
)eat, D/ an' 6iggins, +/ .44/ ,The role of %owerf.l %e'agogical strategies in
c.rric.l.& 'evelo%&ent- The !urriculum 6ournal $#/$$ %%/>$"=!/
)i%&an, @/, +har%, A/ an' 5scayan, < .1314/ &hilosophy in the !lassroom
8rincetonF Te&%le University 8ress
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2!"#"$
2
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"valuation of approaches for developing pupils/ thinking Research re%ort No $$!9
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works' 0esearch,based strategies for increasing student achievement/ Ale*an'ria,
MAF Association for +.%ervision an' C.rric.l.& Develo%&ent
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+choenfel', A .133) 5earning to Think (athematically' &roblem Solving
(etacognition and Sense,making in (athematics (Cha%ter $! in Handbook for
0esearch on (athematics Teaching and 5earning E'/, D/7ro.ws/ New BorkF
@ac&illan)/
+chool @athe&atics 8ro1ect .1313/ &roblem Solving' The School (athematics
&ro)ect *+,*-. Ca&(ri'geF Ca&(ri'ge University 8ress/
+criven, @ .130-/ 0easoning New BorkF @c7raw"6ill
+wartE, R, <ischer, +/, an' 8arks, + .1331/ Infusing the Teaching of !ritical and
!reative Thinking Into Secondary Science 8acific 7rove, CAF Critical Thinking
Books an' +oftware/
Aatson, 7 an' 7laser, E/@/ .1314/ %atson Glaser !ritical Thinking $ppraisal
Clevelan', 5hioF The 8sychological Cor%oration
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