Refinement and Evaluation of the Critical Thinking Self-Assessment Scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Cognitive Skills Assessment

Background:

• Critical thinking (CT) is essential for effective patient care.
• The original Critical Thinking Self-Assessment Scale (CTSAS) comprised 115 items based on Facione et al.'s (1990) model.
• The length of the original CTSAS posed a challenge for practical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To statistically reduce the number of items in the CTSAS.
• To develop a more concise yet psychometrically sound instrument for assessing critical thinking.
• To enhance the usability of the CTSAS for educational and assessment purposes.

Main Methods:

• Item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on data from 712 undergraduate nursing students.
• The revised scale's validity was assessed by comparison with the Need for Cognition Scale.
• Statistical techniques were employed to identify and remove redundant or less effective items.

Main Results:

• The CTSAS was successfully reduced to 46 items.
• The reduced item set maintained coverage across the 16 identified subskills of critical thinking.
• The revised scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including validity and reliability.

Conclusions:

• The revised 46-item CTSAS is a valid, reliable, and significantly shorter instrument.
• The shortened CTSAS retains its psychometric integrity, making it more practical for use.
• Nursing faculty can utilize the revised CTSAS to evaluate students' critical thinking levels and inform curriculum development.