PROGRAM ASSESSMENT FORM
LEARNING OUTCOMES
FALL 2010 AND SPRING 2011
Name of Program: General Education (Competency in Critical Thinking)
Name of Program Leader: Scott Karakas (Lisa Courcier)
Date: 2 September 2011
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
This assessment focused on General Education Competency 3: Critical Thinking, within the
required General Education Humanities course HUM 2510 – Understanding Visual and
Performing Arts. Student achievement criteria for the General Education Competency in
Critical Thinking are listed below.
Competency 3: Critical Thinking
 Define an issue or problem using appropriate terminology;
 Select, organize, and evaluate information;
 Identify and analyze assumptions made by oneself and others;
 Synthesize information, and draw reasoned inferences;
 Develop and clearly state a position, taking into account all relevant points of view;
 Formulate an informed and logical conclusion, and test it for viability.
HUM 2510 is a good subject for this assessment as one of its stated Learning Goals is to
“develop critical thinking skills for analyzing individual works of visual and performing art.”
For a complete list of the FGCU General Education Competencies, please see Appendix A.
ASSESSMENT PLAN
Name and brief description of the instruments/rubrics. (Attach a copy of the instrument to this
document if appropriate).
Both a direct and an indirect assessment of student learning of critical thinking skills was
completed for this assessment.
Direct Assessment – The HUM 2510 assessment team worked with an E-learning designer
to create an automated critical thinking skills scoring rubric, adapted from the Critical
Thinking VALUE (Validated Assessment of Undergraduate Education) rubric provided by
the Association of American Colleges and Universities (Appendix B). The rubric consisted
of 4 possible levels: Lower Range (Poor), Benchmark (Good), Milestone 2 (Strong), and
Milestone 3 (Very Strong—reserved only for highest essays). The criteria were taken
directly from the essay grading rubric currently used in HUM 2510 and noted in the
course’s essay assignment directions. The rubric was based on a 100-point scale to
accommodate the ANGEL calculation system.

Lower Range (0 points): Fails to identify or evaluate key concepts and/or
underlying relationships and/or assumptions and implications; synthesizes
information poorly; draws inappropriate or no inferences.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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
Benchmark 1: (33 points): Identifies and evaluates some key concepts, assumptions
and implications and underlying relationships; synthesizes some information;
occasionally draws appropriate inferences.

Milestone 2 (67 points): Defines key concepts. Identifies and evaluates underlying
relationships effectively; identifies assumptions and implications; synthesizes
information well; draws reasoned inferences.

Milestone 3 (100 points): Accomplished and creative use of critical thinking skills,
including a high level of defining key concepts, organizing and synthesizing
information, identifying assumptions and implications, and drawing reasoned
inferences.
For a copy of the scoring rubric as it appeared online, see Appendix C.
An experienced and trained course preceptor (grading assistant) read each essay, identified
only by a CA1 or CA2 prefix and number, online in the rubric and then clicked on the
appropriate criteria level. ANGEL assigned and recorded the score automatically. Once all
the essays were scored, the data was downloaded for collation and dissemination to the
instructors. All course students then received feedback for their essays, including specific
feedback for critical thinking skills. The process was then repeated with the same sample of
students for the Critical Analysis Essay II assignment, to determine if the feedback had
helped to improve student achievement in critical thinking skills.
Indirect Assessment – The second part of the assessment plan was to create a student selfassessment survey (see Appendix D), and embed it within each ANGEL section of HUM
2510. Survey questions were based on the critical thinking skills criteria used in the
assignment directions, grading rubric, and critical thinking skills scoring rubric. The student
self-assessment was administered during the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 semesters.
Brief description of what is to be assessed/measured.
Direct Assessment – A random sampling of 200 student Critical Thinking essays in HUM
2510 Understanding Visual and Performing Arts were gathered and assessed using the
HUM 2510 Critical Thinking Rubric. For these essays, students are expected to analyze a
work of visual art (essay one) and performing art (essay two) using the content knowledge
that they have learned in the course. The purpose of the essays is to have students apply the
content knowledge, demonstrating their ability to think critically about works of art.
Indirect Assessment – Student feedback regarding their perceived levels of critical thinking
skills was gathered in order to determine how well students were able to gauge their level of
learning. A correlation was then set up between the actual level of learning determined by
the direct assessment and the perceived level of learning determined by the indirect
assessment.
Date(s) of administration.
The direct assessment was administered within the course during the Fall 2010 semester.
The indirect assessment was administered in the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 semesters.
Sample (number of students, % of class, level, demographics).
Direct Assessment – After the Critical Analysis Essay I assignments were graded normally,
a randomly-generated sample of 100 student essays - approximately 8.7% of the 1153
students enrolled in the course during the Fall semester - was culled and uploaded to this
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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integrated rubric. The same process was used for Critical Analysis Essay II, generating 93
scored essays.
Indirect Assessment – In the Fall semester, 677 students (out of 1153, 59%) completed the
survey. In the Spring semester, 838 (out of 1375; 61%) completed the survey.
DATA ANALYSIS
Direct Assessment
The goal of the assessment process was to determine if student scores improved between
Critical Analysis Essay I and Critical Analysis Essay II. Students received feedback on their
writing and critical thinking after they completed the first essay.
The following table summarizes the scores for the two essays:
Critical Analysis
Essay 1
Score
0
1 (33)
2 (67)
3 (100)
Critical Analysis
Essay 2
Score
0
1 (33)
2 (67)
3 (100)
N = 100 essays
Number
28
45
20
7
N = 93 essays
Percentage
28%
45%
20%
7%
Number
18
38
27
10
Percentage
19%
41%
29%
11%
Students were expected to score primarily at a level 1 with many students achieving at level
2. Level 3 is high performing and would generally be above the level of student
achievement for a General Education class. More importantly, we tracked student scores
from Essay I to Essay II, expecting to see an improvement in overall scores.
For Essay I, 72% of students scored at the level of a 1 or higher, with 7% scoring at the
highest level. On Essay II, 81% of students scored at the level of a 1 or higher, with 10%
scoring at the highest level. The percentage of students scoring at the level of a 0 decreased
almost 10%, and at the level of a 1 decreased 4%. The increase at levels 2 and 3 were very
high, 9% and 4% respectively. The goal was met, with overall student scores improving
between Critical Analysis Essay I and Critical Analysis Essay II.
In the next round of assessment (Fall 2011), we will not only compare scores between
Critical Analysis Essays I and II but also between this round of assessment (Fall 2010) and
the next round (Fall 2011).
Indirect Assessment
Students were asked three questions at the end of the term in order to gauge their sense of
critical thinking skills. The questions were as follows:
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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Question 1: Based on your experiences in this course, would you say your critical
thinking skills have improved: A lot, A little, Not at all.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes your critical thinking skills: Not
Very Good, About Average, Pretty Good, Very Strong.
Question 3: Thinking critically about a variety of issues, ideas and beliefs is central to
your development as an educated person. Recognizing how you go about the process of
“critical thinking” is a key part of the developmental process. When you are asked to
analyze information, critical thinking is most precisely understood as: having a very
strong opinion and supporting it by using terms and ideas covered in class; providing
strong background material, summary, description, definitions and context in order to
demonstrate an understanding of key terms and ideas; defining key terms and ideas,
organizing and synthesizing information, identifying assumptions and implications, and
drawing reasoned inferences.
In the Fall 2010 semester, the responses to the last question included two options not
included in the Spring 2011 semester: none of these and all of these. These responses were
eliminated in the spring semester in order to force students to select one option as one of
these options (the third) was the definition of critical thinking provided during the semester
and used to guide students as they worked on their essays. For the first two questions,
responses to the fall and spring semesters are as follows:
In response to Question 1 asking students about their sense of improvement in critical
thinking skills as a result of the course, 30% of students responded that their skills
improved “A lot”; 60% “A little”; 10% “Not at all.”
In response to Question 2 asking students to rank their critical thinking skills, 2.5% of
students responded “Not very good”; 30% responded “About average”; 52.5%
responded “Pretty Good”; “15% responded “Very Strong.”
Responses to the spring semester survey for question 3 are as follows:
In response to Question 3 asking students to choose definitions of critical thinking,
9.5% selected choice 1; 40% selected choice 2; and 50% selected choice 3, the correct
selection.
The student self-assessment of critical thinking skills did not correlate strongly with the
direct assessment. In the direct assessment, 90% of the students demonstrated good or
strong critical thinking skills while 97.5% of the students responded that their critical
thinking skills were average or above average. In addition, that only 50% were able to
correctly select the definition of critical thinking used in the course suggests that students
may not have a complete understanding of the concept as it is used and developed in the
course.
All responses to the student survey are included in Appendix E.
USE OF ASSESSMENT FINDINGS TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Recommended changes based on assessment findings. Include plan for sending substantive
changes to department/college/university curriculum teams.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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Critical Thinking Skills Rubric and Sample Essay Collection
Faculty were pleased with the ANGEL integrated CT Skills rubric and sampling
methodology, and plan to use both again for the next round of assessment in Fall 2011.
In addition, the following adjustments will be made to the assessment process:
 Two scorers will be used for the direct assessment of student learning in order to
generate more reliable data;
 Inter-rater reliability will be monitored and improved over time;
 Students will be asked to use the same rubric to score their own essays in order to
move towards a more accurate determination of the correlation between the direct
and indirect assessments; this indirect assessment will be paired with the student
survey, discussed below.
Critical Thinking Skills Feedback for Essays
Although the results of the Fall 2010 essay scoring showed overall improvement in critical
thinking skills between the first and second critical analysis essays, instructors decided to
enhance the feedback given by preceptors to improve both the scores and overall student
learning. The problems seen with earlier feedback included unevenness in both quality and
application. To address these issues, the assessment team created a set template of
commentary that the preceptors will be required to use in future (see Appendix F).
Preceptors are directed to copy and paste the relevant commentary at the end of their
general grading comments.
Preceptor compliance, which improved from Fall 2010 to Spring 2011, will be reinforced in
Fall 2011 by more comprehensive monitoring of essay grades and comments.
Another change made in response to the sample essay scores was to emphasize more
strongly and clearly the critical thinking skills component of the Critical Analysis Essay
instructions.
Critical Thinking Skills Self-Assessment
The data from the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 self-assessment survey revealed a disparity
between students’ perceptions of their own command of critical thinking skills and the
actual skill level shown by the essay scoring data. As well, there seems to be a lack of
understanding of what exactly comprises “critical thinking skills.” While it is encouraging
that more students reported that their experiences in the HUM 2510 course improved their
critical thinking skills “A lot,” the assessment team noted also that the percentage reported
“a little” remained nearly constant. “Not at all” percentages were down marginally. Fewer
students rated their own skills level as “not very good, pretty good, or very strong,” while
more the Spring 11 students’ percentage of “about average” answers rose. However, while
the spring percentage of students who rated themselves as “pretty good” was less than that
of the fall students, the “pretty good” choice had the highest percentage overall. Although
the 50% choice of the answer that reflected the definition of critical thinking skills used in
the assignment directions and essay feedback was a positive sign, the number of students
who chose other answers was indicative of a need for improvement in disseminating a
clearer definition of critical thinking skills. This need was also indicated by the gap between
student self-perception of skills and actual achievement.
To improve the self-assessment process itself, the assessment team removed the last two
answer choices in Question 3, the “definition of critical thinking skills.” “None of the
answer choices” and “All of the answer choices” proved to have been red herrings that
deflected more thoughtful consideration and skewed the data, and were deleted in the
Spring 2011 survey. The results from Spring 2011 were thus more reliable. The team will
continue to use this amended version of the survey in Fall 2011. It will be interesting to see
the data generated in the Fall 2011 survey to learn if and how the curricular changes made
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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in response to the data collected in the AY 2010- 2011 Critical Thinking Skills Assessment
affect student self-perceptions. The assessment team hopes that the changes narrow the gap
between perceived skills and achievement and enhance student learning.
Writing Skills Assignments
Another curricular change implemented in response to the data generated by the essay
scoring and the self-assessment concerned the Writing Skills Assignments, designed to
prepare students for writing critical analysis essays and to strengthen their skills in critical
analysis and thinking. In these assignments, students are asked to review a pair of unmarked
essays, one in the higher grade range, and one in a lower grade range. They are to write a
brief analysis of the pair, stating which essay is the stronger—and why—and which is the
weaker—and why. Students are warned that the assignments are not subjective; they must
use critical thinking skills instead of opinion.
However, to narrow the gap between student perceptions of their own level of critical
thinking skills and the actual achievement illustrated by the sample essay scoring, faculty
felt that it was important to increase student understanding of what critical thinking skills
are and enhance consequent use of these skills. To that end, the assessment team made
several changes to the assignment. Critical thinking skills were emphasized and clarified in
the directions by differentiating clearly between the use of opinion and the application of
critical thinking skills in deciding the stronger essay. The critical thinking skills were
enumerated and defined, as were the other criteria that should be employed in the essay
choice. As well, essay pairs were revised to make them conform more clearly to the criteria
delineated in the assignment directions (“what to look for when analyzing your essay pair”)
and re-paired.
Describe how data and recommendations were shared with faculty. (Attach a copy of minutes to
this document if applicable).
Information from this report has been shared with course faculty and preceptors by the
HUM 2510 assessment team and course coordinator.
For full information, see the September 1, 2011 meeting minutes in Appendix G.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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APPENDIX A – FGCU General Education Competencies
Competency 1: Quantitative Reasoning
 Solve mathematical problems;
 Analyze and interpret quantitative data;
 Summarize data into graphic and tabular formats;
 Make valid inferences from data;
 Distinguish between valid and invalid quantitative analysis and reasoning.

Competency 2: Written Communication
 Employ the conventions of standard written English;
 Select a topic, and develop it for a specific audience and purpose, with respect for diverse
perspectives;
 Organize and present relevant content with coherence, clarity, and unity;
 Develop research skills including the ability to collect, analyze, synthesize, and accurately
present and document information;
 Use appropriate language to convey meaning effectively;
 Apply critical reading skills.

Competency 3: Critical Thinking
 Define an issue or problem using appropriate terminology;
 Select, organize, and evaluate information;
 Identify and analyze assumptions made by oneself and others;
 Synthesize information, and draw reasoned inferences;
 Develop and clearly state a position, taking into account all relevant points of view;
 Formulate an informed and logical conclusion, and test it for viability.
History: Approved by General Education Council on 11/2/05; revised and approved on 4/12/11
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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APPENDIX B – AAC&U Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric
CRITICAL THINKING VALUE RUBRIC
for more information, please contact value@aacu.org
The VALUE rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States through a process
that examined many existing campus rubrics and related documents for each learning outcome and incorporated additional feedback from faculty. The
rubrics articulate fundamental criteria for each learning outcome, with performance descriptors demonstrating progressively more sophisticated levels of
attainment. The rubrics are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading. The core expectations
articulated in all 15 of the VALUE rubrics can and should be translated into the language of individual campuses, disciplines, and even courses. The utility
of the VALUE rubrics is to position learning at all undergraduate levels within a basic framework of expectations such that evidence of learning can by
shared nationally through a common dialog and understanding of student success.
Definition
Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or
formulating an opinion or conclusion.
Framing Language
This rubric is designed to be transdisciplinary, reflecting the recognition that success in all disciplines requires habits of inquiry and analysis that
share common attributes. Further, research suggests that successful critical thinkers from all disciplines increasingly need to be able to apply those habits
in various and changing situations encountered in all walks of life.
This rubric is designed for use with many different types of assignments and the suggestions here are not an exhaustive list of possibilities. Critical
thinking can be demonstrated in assignments that require students to complete analyses of text, data, or issues. Assignments that cut across presentation
mode might be especially useful in some fields. If insight into the process components of critical thinking (e.g., how information sources were evaluated
regardless of whether they were included in the product) is important, assignments focused on student reflection might be especially illuminating.
•
•
•
•
•
Glossary
The definitions that follow were developed to clarify terms and concepts used in this rubric only.
Ambiguity: Information that may be interpreted in more than one way.
Assumptions: Ideas, conditions, or beliefs (often implicit or unstated) that are "taken for granted or accepted as true without proof." (quoted from
www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/assumptions)
Context: The historical, ethical. political, cultural, environmental, or circumstantial settings or conditions that influence and complicate the
consideration of any issues, ideas, artifacts, and events.
Literal meaning: Interpretation of information exactly as stated. For example, "she was green with envy" would be interpreted to mean that her
skin was green.
Metaphor: Information that is (intended to be) interpreted in a non-literal way. For example, "she was green with envy" is intended to convey an
intensity of emotion, not a skin color.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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CRITICAL THINKING VALUE RUBRIC
for more information, please contact value@aacu.org
Definition
Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or
conclusion.
Evaluators are encouraged to assign a zero to any work sample or collection of work that does not meet benchmark (cell one) level performance.
Capstone
Milestones
Benchmark
4
3
Explanation of issues
Issue/problem to be
considered critically is
stated clearly and described
comprehensively,
delivering all relevant
information necessary for
full understanding.
Issue/problem to be
considered critically is stated,
described, and clarified so that
understanding is not seriously
impeded by omissions.
Issue/problem to be
considered critically is stated
but description leaves some
terms undefined, ambiguities
unexplored, boundaries
undetermined, and/or
backgrounds unknown.
Issue/problem to be considered
critically is stated without clarification
or description.
Evidence
Selecting and using information to
investigate a point of view or
conclusion
Information is taken from
source(s) with enough
interpretation/evaluation
to develop a
comprehensive analysis or
synthesis.
Viewpoints of experts are
questioned thoroughly.
Information is taken from
source(s) with enough
interpretation/evaluation to
develop a coherent analysis or
synthesis.
Viewpoints of experts are
subject to questioning.
Information is taken from
source(s) with some
interpretation/evaluation, but
not enough to develop a
coherent analysis or synthesis.
Viewpoints of experts are
taken as mostly fact, with little
questioning.
Information is taken from source(s)
without any interpretation/evaluation.
Viewpoints of experts are taken as
fact, without question.
Influence of context and
assumptions
Thoroughly (systematically
and methodically) analyzes
own and others'
assumptions and carefully
evaluates the relevance of
contexts when presenting a
position.
Identifies own and others'
assumptions and several
relevant contexts when
presenting a position.
Questions some assumptions.
Identifies several relevant
contexts when presenting a
position. May be more aware
of others' assumptions than
one's own (or vice versa).
Shows an emerging awareness of
present assumptions (sometimes labels
assertions as assumptions). Begins to
identify some contexts when
presenting a position.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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9
1
Student's position
(perspective,
thesis/hypothesis)
Specific position
(perspective,
thesis/hypothesis) is
imaginative, taking into
account the complexities
of an issue.
Limits of position
(perspective,
thesis/hypothesis) are
acknowledged.
Others' points of view are
synthesized within position
(perspective,
thesis/hypothesis).
Specific position (perspective,
thesis/hypothesis) takes into
account the complexities of an
issue.
Others' points of view are
acknowledged within position
(perspective,
thesis/hypothesis).
Specific position (perspective, Specific position (perspective,
thesis/hypothesis)
thesis/hypothesis) is stated, but is
acknowledges different sides of simplistic and obvious.
an issue.
Conclusions and related
outcomes (implications and
consequences)
Conclusions and related
outcomes (consequences
and implications) are
logical and reflect student’s
informed evaluation and
ability to place evidence
and perspectives discussed
in priority order.
Conclusion is logically tied to a
range of information, including
opposing viewpoints; related
outcomes (consequences and
implications) are identified
clearly.
Conclusion is logically tied to
information (because
information is chosen to fit the
desired conclusion); some
related outcomes
(consequences and
implications) are identified
clearly.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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Conclusion is inconsistently tied to
some of the information discussed;
related outcomes (consequences and
implications) are oversimplified.
APPENDIX C – Critical Thinking Rubric
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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APPENDIX D – Critical Thinking Self-Assessment Online Survey
Question 1: Based on your experiences in this course, would you say your critical thinking skills have
improved:
Answer choice 1: A lot; Answer choice 2: A little; Answer choice 3: Not at all
Question 2: Which of the following best describes your critical thinking skills?
Answer choice 1: Not very good, Answer choice 2: About average; Answer choice 3: Pretty good;
Answer choice 4: Very Strong
Question 3: Thinking critically about a variety of issues, ideas and beliefs is central to your development
as an educated person. Recognizing how you go about the process of “critical thinking” is a key part of
the developmental process. When you are asked to analyze information, critical thinking is most
precisely understood as __________.
Answer choice 1: having a very strong opinion and supporting it by using terms and ideas covered
in class; Answer choice 2: providing strong background material, summary, description,
definitions and context in order to demonstrate an understanding of key terms and ideas; Answer
choice 3: defining key terms and ideas, organizing and synthesizing information, identifying
assumptions and implications, and drawing reasoned inferences; Answer choice 4: None of the
answer choices.; and Answer choice 5: All of the answer choices
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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APPENDIX E – Student Self-Assessment Scores
Question 1: Based on your experiences in this course, would you say your critical thinking skills have
improved:
Answer Choice 1: A lot
Number who chose
answer
Fall 2010
194
Spring 2011
255
Total responses
Answer Choice 2: A little
Answers
Total responses
Fall 2010
407
Spring 2011
497
Answer Choice 3: Not at all
Answers
Total responses
Fall 2010
76
Spring 2011
86
Percentage
677
28.65%
838
30.43%
Percentage
677
60.12%
838
59.31%
Percentage
677
11.23%
838
10.26%
Question 2: Which of the following best describes your critical thinking skills:
Answer Choice 1: Not very good
Number who chose
Total responses
answer
Fall 2010
20
Spring 2011
18
Answer Choice 2: About average
Number who chose
Total responses
answer
Fall 2010
171
Spring 2011
283
Answer Choice 3: Pretty good
Number who chose
Total responses
answer
Fall 2010
369
Spring 2011
425
Answer Choice 4: Very strong
Number who chose
Total responses
answer
Fall 2010
Percentage
677
2.95%
838
2.15%
Percentage
677
25.26%
838
33.77%
Percentage
677
54.51%
838
50.72%
Percentage
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
13
117
677
17.28%
112
838
13.36%
Spring 2011
Question 3: Thinking critically about a variety of issues, ideas and beliefs is central to your development as
an educated person. Recognizing how you go about the process of “critical thinking” is a key part of the
developmental process. When you are asked to analyze information, critical thinking is most precisely
understood as __________.
Answer choice 1: having a very strong opinion and supporting it by using
terms and ideas covered in class
Number who chose
answer
Fall 2010
Total responses
Percentage
36
677
5.32%
80
836
9.57%
Spring 2011
Answer choice 2: providing strong background material, summary,
description, definitions and context in order to demonstrate an
understanding of key terms and ideas
Number who chose
Total responses
Percentage
answer
Fall 2010
116
677
17.13%
Spring 2011
336
836
40.19%
Answer choice 3: defining key terms and ideas, organizing and
synthesizing information, identifying assumptions and implications, and
drawing reasoned inferences
Number who chose
Total responses
Percentage
answer
Fall 2010
160
677
23.63%
Spring 2011
420
836
50.24%
*Answer 3 is the “correct” choice, reflecting the definition used in the class material.
Answer choice 4: None of the answer choices.
Number who chose
Total responses
Percentage
answer
Fall 2010
10
677
Spring 2011
This answer choice omitted in the Spring 2011 Self-Assessment
Answer choice 5: All of the answer choices
Number who chose
Total responses
Percentage
answer
Fall 2010
355
677
Spring 2011
This answer choice omitted in the Spring 2011 Self-Assessment
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
1.48%
52.44%
14
APPENDIX F – Critical Thinking Skills Comments for Critical Analysis Essays

Very strong use of critical thinking skills! Accomplished and creative use of critical thinking
skills, including a high level of defining key concepts, organizing and synthesizing information,
identifying assumptions and implications, and drawing reasoned inferences. Great work!

Strong use of critical thinking skills! You define key concepts and identify and evaluate
underlying relationships effectively. You identify assumptions and implications, synthesize
information well, and draw reasoned inferences. Nice job!

Good use of critical thinking skills. You identify and evaluate some key concepts, assumptions
and implications and underlying relationships. You synthesize some information and
occasionally draw appropriate inferences, all of which is a good start. Build on it to strengthen
your writing even more.

Your critical thinking skills need strengthening. Critical thinking requires that you consider all
available evidence; identify and evaluate underlying assumptions, implications and
relationships, synthesize information well, and draw appropriate inferences. Some or all of
these steps were missing in your paper. Often, just applying simple logic and common sense
will help you evaluate evidence and synthesize more critically. Working on these skills should
enable you to produce a stronger essay.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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APPENDIX G – Meeting Minutes
Minutes
HUM 2510 Critical Thinking Assessment Team Meeting of September 1, 2011
The meeting convened at 10:00 a.m. In attendance were Anne-Marie Bouché, Scott Karakas,
Elspeth McCulloch, and Morgan T. Paine. Earlier discussion on the same subject had been held
via email between Lisa Courcier, Scott Karakas, and Jim Wohlpart
ASSESSMENT:
Participants discussed the results of the 2010-2011 direct and indirect assessments. Based on
those results, members of the assessment team agreed to improve the process for 2011-2012 by:



using two scorers for the direct assessment of student learning in order to generate
more reliable data;
monitoring inter-rater reliability;
using the same rubric for both direct and indirect assessment to generate a more
accurate determination of the correlation between the two.
For the direct assessment, students had expected to score primarily at a level 1 on the rubric, with many
students achieving at level 2. Results indicated that 72% of students scored at the level of a level 1 or
higher on Critical Analysis Essay 1. On Essay II, 81% of students scored at the level of a 1 or higher,
meeting the goal of having overall student scores improve between Critical Analysis Essay I and
Critical Analysis Essay II.
For the indirect assessment, students had been asked three questions at the end of the assessment term in
order to gauge their sense of critical thinking skills. In response to those questions, 90% of students
responded that their skills improved to some degree during the course, while more 97.5% of students
rated their own critical thinking skills at “about average” or better. The student self-assessment of
critical thinking skills did not correlate as strongly with the direct assessment as the faculty would have
wished. In addition, that only 50% were able to correctly select the definition of critical thinking used in
the course suggests that students may not have a complete understanding of the concept as it is used and
developed in the course.
Participants agreed that course preceptors should provide students with enhanced feedback in order to
improve both the scores and overall student learning, using the commentary template outlined in
Appendix F. They also agreed that the course coordinator would more strongly emphasize the critical
thinking component of the Critical Analysis Essays in the essay instructions, and that course faculty
would more closely monitor preceptor grading and feedback in order to insure greater consistency
across course sections. Members also agreed to add greater emphasis and clarity to critical thinking
skills in the preparatory Writing Skills Assignments, in order to better prepare students for that element
of the essays. The course coordinator will pull random samples for both the direct assessment essays
and the new rubric-based student self-assessment, and students will be awarded two (2) course points
for completing the self-assessment. All of these improvements will be made for Fall 2011 by the course
coordinator, and implemented by the course faculty and preceptors.
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment (General Education)
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