The primary goal of this project is to nationally disseminate a unique assessment tool for evaluating students' critical thinking and problem solving skills. The CAT instrument (Critical thinking Assessment Test) was developed and refined with previous NSF support in collaboration with six other diverse institutions across the country. The instrument was found to have (1) high face validity for faculty across the country in STEM and non-STEM disciplines; (2) good criterion validity; (3) good construct validity relative to learning sciences theory; (4) good reliability; and (5) cultural fairness. A subsequent NSF grant supported the development and evaluation of training methods and materials to prepare other institutions to use and score the CAT instrument on their own campus. That project was successful in establishing "proof of concept" that representatives from other institutions could be successfully trained in regional workshops to administer and lead accurate scoring workshops on their own campuses. The current project will focus on broad national dissemination of this instrument for use with both institutions and other NSF-CCLI research projects interested in assessing improvements in students' critical thinking/real-world problem solving skills. To accomplish these goals, the project will involve four interrelated activities: (1) Expanding institutional use of the CAT instrument; (2) Expanding access to the CAT instrument for other NSF-CCLI projects; (3) Developing new electronic methods for training and providing technical support; and (4) Developing, testing, and refining new test questions to insure the continued viability of the instrument. The wide-spread dissemination of this instrument will help transform the teaching of critical thinking in STEM and non-STEM education and strengthen the educational infrastructure that prepares students for STEM careers. In an increasingly technological and information-driven society, the ability to think critically has become a cornerstone to both workplace development and effective educational programs (AACU, 2008; Bok, 2006). Developing critical thinking skills is central to both the National Science Standards (Forawi, 2001) and the National Educational Technology Standards (International Society for Technology Education, 2003). Many NSF-CCLI projects also target improving critical thinking and real-world problem solving skills, and they need valid measures to assess progress. Despite the central importance of critical thinking in the workplace and education, existing assessment tools are plagued by problems related to validity, reliability, cultural fairness, and faculty acceptance (U.S. Department of Education, 2000; Ikenberry, 2009).
