Assessment of Primary School Students' Critical Thinking Skills Developed Through Curriculum
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.v-iv.24267Keywords:
Assessment Skill, Critical Thinking Skill, Curriculum, Primary School Students, EducationAbstract
This study was conducted on primary school students enrolled at primary schools under the administration of the federal Directorate of Education. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which intended critical thinking skill was developed in students. The objective of the study was to assess the student's critical thinking skills that had been developed through the curriculum. Male and female students from grade 3 to grade 5 were the population of the study. Data was collected from the students at primary schools administered by the Federal Directorate of Education. Primary-level students from the Islamabad sector comprised the study population. A multistage sampling technique was used to select samples for the study. Under descriptive research, this was cross-sectional research. Self-constructed criterion-referenced test was developed for students. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze students' test data. The study concluded that there were significant differences in skill across grades 3, 4, and 5, with Grade 5 generally outperforming the others. This study emphasizes aligning assessments with curriculum outcomes, providing teachers with rubrics and professional development on skills-based assessments, and integrating technology to effectively assess 21st-century skills.
References
Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Waddington, D. I., Wade, C. A., & Persson, T. (2015). Strategies for teaching students to think critically: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 275– 314. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314551063
Bailin, S., & Siegel, H. (2003). Critical thinking. USA: Blackwell Publishing.
Becker, A. (2011). Examining rubrics used to measure writing performance in U.S. intensive English Programs. The CATESOL Journal, 22(1), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.5070/b5.36219
Ennis, R. H. (1993). Critical thinking assessment. Theory into Practice, 32(3), 179–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849309543594
Facione, P. A. (2015). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. American Philosophical Association.
Gelder, T. (2005). Teaching critical thinking: Some lessons from cognitive science. College Teaching, 53(1), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.53.1.41-48
Hu, W., Jia, X., Plucker, J. A., & Shan, X. (2016). Effects of a critical thinking skills program on the learning motivation of primary school students. Roeper Review, 38(2), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2016.1150374
Ku, K. Y. L. (2009). Assessing students' critical thinking performance: Urging for measurements using multi-response format. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4(1), 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2009.02.001
Lai, E. R., & Viering, M. (2012). Assessing 21st Century Skills: Integrating Research Findings. Pearson.
Lohr, S. L. (2021). Sampling: design and analysis. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: The nature of critical and creative thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 30(2), 34-36. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ986272.pdf
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2007). A guide for educators to critical thinking competency standards: Standards, principles, performance indicators, and outcomes. Foundation for Critical Thinking Press.
Santos, D., & Silva, G. V. (2008). Authenticating materials through critical thinking: the case of teaching and learning suggestions in Portuguese. Hispania, 110-123. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20063627
Sarigoz, O. (2012). Assessment of the high school students’ critical thinking skills. Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 5315–5319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.430
Wilson, M., Bejar, I., Scalise, K., Templin, J., Wiliam, D., Irribarra, D.T. (2012). Perspectives on Methodological Issues. In: Griffin, P., McGaw, B., Care, E. (eds) Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2324-5_3
