The Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric (HCTSR) is intended for use in the rating of the observable critical thinking demonstrated by presentations, reports, essays, projects, classroom discussions, panel presentations, portfolios, and other ratable events or performances. Teachers and professors have found the HCTSR to be ideal for teaching critical thinking and for classroom level learning outcomes assessment of critical thinking.

The HCTSR provides criteria for assigning a rating at one of four levels ranging from Excellent to Poor critical thinking. The use of the HCTSR facilitates an increased understanding of the language of critical thinking in everyday conversation and practices the rater in the evaluation of argumentation and decision making.

The HCTSR is not a standardized measure of critical thinking. It is a qualitative tool best used for developmental purposes. The validity and reliability of HCTSR ratings rest on the ability of the rater to recognize and discriminate between varying examples of reasoning processes. As with all rubrics, the training and calibration of raters in the use of this tool is required to establish valid and reliable ratings (Kappa statistic).

HCTSR, © 1994, by Peter A. Facione and Noreen C. Facione. Published by Insight Assessment / The California Academic Press. Permission is hereby granted for to copy and to use for teaching, assessment or other educational and noncommercial purposes. No part of the the HCTST may be altered. Appropriate author and publisher citation is required. Other permissions, e.g. to reproduce the HCTSR for sale in course packages, books, or on-line can be obtained by contacting Insight Assessment / The California Academic Press.

Contact us about authorized translations of the HCTSR.

"Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts"

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