Kevin J. Apple et al.
7878
data each year, faculty members use the assessment data to inform departmental decisions.
To facilitate systematic assessment, we assess our students at three stages during their
academic careers: beginning, middle, and end. The first student assessment occurs before
they begin classes as freshmen. Students complete their midcareer assessment during their
sophomore/junior year on Assessment Day: a day during mid-February each year when
classes are canceled so students can complete their assessments. These first two assessment
batteries focus on students’ mastery of general education learning objectives. Finally,
students complete departmental assessments during their senior year on Assessment Day.
The senior-year assessment focuses on students’ mastery of the learning objectives for their
individual majors.
Assessing Critical Thinking in General Education
Like most U.S. universities, JMU has a core curriculum that all undergraduate students
complete regardless of majors, minors, or preprofessional programs. Faculty have arranged
the general education curriculum into clusters of courses arranged into five educational
themes fundamental to becoming a well-educated student:
●
Cluster One: Skills for the 21st Century (3 courses)●
Cluster Two: Arts and Humanities (3 courses)●
Cluster Three: Natural World (3–4 courses)●
Cluster Four: Social and Cultural Processes (2 courses)●
Cluster Five: Individuals in the Human Community (2 courses)Critical thinking is assessed in both Clusters One and Three. As part of the assessment
culture at JMU, we are able to benefit from the data our general education colleagues
collect. For Cluster One (Skills for the 21st Century), all students must take one of five
courses designed with the explicit purpose of addressing critical thinking. The assessment
plan for this set of courses has been evolving. Over the years, faculty members have used
various standardized tests, such as the Cornell Critical Thinking Test – Level Z (The
Critical Thinking Company, n.d.) with moderate satisfaction. Since 2005, faculty have
been using the Comprehensive Test of Critical Thinking (CTCT; James Madison
University, Center for Assessment and Research Studies, 2006), developed by Philosophy
faculty at JMU who specialize in critical thinking. They designed the test to probe stu-
dents’ understanding of claims, credibility, conclusions, evidence, and argument. The
CTCT consists of 55 multiple-choice items that have been linked to Cluster One learning
objectives. The Cronbach’s alpha for this test was a = .66 (Fall, 2005) and a = .70 (Spring,
2007). Students completing this test before starting classes (M = 27.6, SD = 5.72) in the
Fall of 2005 scored significantly lower than students during their midcareer assessment
(M = 29.8, SD = 6.12) during Spring 2006, t(888) = 5.51, p < .001. This increase in
critical thinking scores may be attributed to the coursework students have completed since
beginning JMU. The Center for Assessment and Research Studies have shared the data
with the faculty who teach the critical thinking classes, along with more detailed analyses