The Development of a Critical Thinking Skills Measurement Tool in Science and Technology for Grade 6 Students
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Abstract
This research aimed to: 1) identify the components and behavioral indicators of critical thinking skills in sixth-grade students; 2) develop and examine the quality of a critical thinking skills assessment tool for sixth-grade students; and 3) establish cutoff scores for critical thinking skills using a design-based research approach. The sample consisted of 500 sixth-grade students selected through multi-stage random sampling for the main phase of data collection. The instrument was a multiple-choice test with four options per item; a correct response received 1 point, while an incorrect response received 0 points. Data were analyzed using classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). The findings as follows:
1. The synthesis of critical thinking components resulted in five key elements: 1) problem identification, 2) hypothesis formulation, 3) data collection, 4) data analysis, and 5) conclusion drawing.
2. The quality assessment of the instrument revealed that the item-objective congruence index was 1.00 for all 40 items. The quality after using with item response theory, it was found that the discrimination parameter (ai) was between 0.39 and 5.03, the difficulty parameter (bi) was between -1.29 and 5.14, and the guessing parameter (ci) was between 0.13 and 0.27.
3. Model fit indices suggested that a three-class latent model—comprising high, medium, and low critical thinking skill groups—was the most appropriate (Likelihood = -11858.198, df = 378, AIC = 23960.395, BIC = 24474.578, Adj.BIC = 24087.342, Ek = 0.846). The cutoff scores were 23.7 (between high and medium groups) and 16.1 (between medium and low groups).
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