Are IA critical thinking assessments right for my project?
IA assessments are specifically designed for organizations looking to evaluate the critical thinking skills and mindset of their candidates, students, or employees. Our assessments cater to various sectors including educational institutions, corporate entities, training programs, and more. If understanding and advancing the critical thinking capabilities of your members is vital to your objectives, then our assessments would be an excellent fit. Remember, our aim is ‘Advancing Thinking Worldwide,’ and we’re here to help organizations like yours achieve that goal.
How do I identify the best critical thinking assessment for my project?
For assistance selecting the best critical thinking skills or mindset assessment for your project, please contact our customer support representatives.
How do IA assessments ensure the validity and reliability of critical thinking measurement?
The assessment instruments we provide build on a multidisciplinary international expert consensus research project that defined "critical thinking" and identified the thinking skills inherent in the human cognitive process of purposeful reflective judgment. Upon that foundation we add the subsequent more than 30 years of international endorsem*nt of these now well-defined concepts. Validity and reliability coefficients meet the highest standards for all instruments (see additional comments below). Each assessment has been psychometrically evaluated in collaboration with researchers, educators, trainers, and working professionals, to assure cultural sensitivity and language competence for its intended test-taker group. The Executive Summary of that international expert consensus project, "The Delphi Report," is available free in the Resources section of our website. We’ve piloted items/scales across diverse populations, including trainees, students, employees, military personnel, and more. An extensive body of both collaborative and independent research underpins our tools. We pride ourselves on the cultural and linguistic competence of our instruments, thanks to our work with global scholars. Ultimately, the validity and reliability coefficients of all our assessments meet the industry’s highest standards, confirming our unwavering commitment to advancing critical thinking. Our assessment instruments measuring reasoning skills and thinking mindset are developed and studied in representative samples appropriate to each tailored instrument. For example, assessments developed for each population group (undergraduate students, graduate students, employees and trainees, military officers and enlisted personnel, government employees, children at every K-12 grade level, health professionals across the spectrum of health care disciplines, law students, MBA students, technical and community college students, and the general population) are examined in validation studies to assure their performance in the intended population and to uncover any un-intended non-inclusive language or cultural bias. The resulting item pool and measurement scales used in our assessments are updated to maintain their validity, reliability, and cultural relevance. Multiple choice items are used to measure reasoning skills. These are not memory items or content knowledge recall items. Instead, our questions provide the content to which the test-taker must apply their thinking skills. Consistent with best practices in the measurement of internal motivations, intentions, and beliefs, carefully worded Likert-style items measure thinking mindset attributes. The scale metrics of the reasoning skills assessments capture the cognitive skills needed for strength in critical thinking as defined in APA Delphi Report as intrinsic to critical thinking skill. The mindset metrics are framed using this study’s description of the ideal critical thinker informed by discussions with industry leaders and expert teachers and trainers of reasoning and decision-making. The resulting instruments are built using scales that have been validated separately and as a group in the composite assessment and will have been tested against social desirability bias. For information relating to content validity; construct validity; convergent construct validity; discriminant/divergent validity; criterion/predictive validity; the relationship of critical thinking to age, sex, grade point average, or educational opportunity; controls for social desirability response bias; internal consistency; and test-retest reliability see the user manual for the assessment instrument you are considering.
What other major factors are important when choosing assessments of critical thinking?
Calibration to Project Needs: Ensure the assessment is the appropriate level for those being evaluated and measures the skills and/or mindset that the project is looking to analyze. Ensure language comprehension for accurate assessment outcomes. This is why our assessments cater to various ages, educational levels, roles, and languages. Recognize the significance of cultural relevance in real-world question scenarios. At Insight Assessment, we work globally to ensure our assessments’ cultural sensitivity.
How do I use IA critical thinking assessments to test candidates from other countries?
IA takes pride in being a global leader in critical thinking assessment. Our online tools have been meticulously crafted to offer a multi-language experience, ensuring both language flexibility and cultural sensitivity. Our instruments have been designed to be as universally applicable as possible, minimizing cultural biases and ensuring the relevancy of questions across diverse backgrounds. This means whether you’re a university in Asia assessing American candidates or a European company evaluating local talents, our tools are adaptable and relevant. Presently, our assessments are trusted by institutions in over sixty nations and are available in over twenty languages. Our commitment is to provide assessments that transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries, ensuring validity and reliability worldwide.
Does Insight Assessment offer training, workshops, or consulting services?
Insight Assessment partners with Measured Reasons to offer professional training and workshops for organizations. For individuals looking to hone their critical thinking skills and mindset, we recommend visiting Insight Basecamp.
Can my organization add any custom demographic questions to an IA critical thinking assessment?
Absolutely. Clients can incorporate up to 10 custom demographic questions for test-takers to complete upon their initial login. These questions facilitate more detailed analysis of assessment results based on categories like department, years of service, education level, geographic location, and more. Possible responses can be open-ended or provide a drop-down menu of predefined options. Reach out to our assessment specialists for assistance in framing these questions and tailoring them to your project’s needs.
What is numeracy, and why is it important?
Numeracy, often referred to as quantitative reasoning, is the ability to reason and solve problems involving numbers. It’s vital in various domains: Measuring numeracy ensures that professionals in these fields possess the foundational skills necessary for effective decision-making and problem-solving.
