Problem-­solving assessment is an essential component of multi-­tiered systems of support such as response to intervention (RTI) and positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). This authoritative work provides a complete guide to implementing a wide range of problem­-solving assessment methods, including: (1) functional behavioral…

This document provides specific examples of what is involved in applying intellectual criteria and standards to students' reasoning, focusing on elements of reasoning (EORs). The significance of reasoning having elements and the need for standards in assessing reasoning are described. The following are the EORs: (1) purpose, goal, or end in view…

Open-ended individually administered questions can ascertain whether students can reason about arithmetic problems. Free response test items are useful in assessing students' thought processes as they solve mathematics story problems. Since story problems do not state explicitly which arithmetic operations are required for solution, students must…

This paper describes the development, implementation, and effects of new approaches to cognitive assessment within an undergraduate engineering course at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The course, ENGR 110, "Introduction to Engineering," was designed to be a problem-based learning environment in which cadets worked in teams to solve…

This paper discusses how concepts and procedural skills in problem-solving tasks, as well as affects and emotions, can be subjected to meaningful measurement (MM), based on a multisource model of learning and a constructivist information-processing theory of knowing. MM refers to the quantitative measurement of conceptual and procedural knowledge…

Cognitive theory and research are relevant to vocational education. Three theoretical perspectives underlie cognitive theory-based curriculum and instruction: information processing, knowledge structure, and social history. A review of these perspectives in vocational curriculum and instruction suggests that instruction supporting higher-level…

Issues in the development of assessments of higher order thinking skills for college graduates are discussed in the order in which they were presented when this series of papers was commissioned. With regard to Issue 1, it is generally agreed that the development of these skills is a desirable goal, but there is little consensus on how they should…

This document provides a model for the national assessment of higher order thinking and consists of a preface and four main sections. The preface discusses the problem of lower order learning, summarizes the state of research into critical thinking and instructional reform, and explains the structure of the paper. Section 1 of the paper describes…

Discusses two methods for developing and assessing fluid abilities. In the first method, students are asked to solve increasingly unfamiliar problems in a domain; and in the second, students are required to organize knowledge in new ways or view it from different perspectives. (SLD)

Goal five of the National Education Goals of America 2000 calls for dramatic improvement in the educational attainment of the nation's adult population. Encompassed in the goal is a charge to increase the number of college graduates who can think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems. This paper focuses on measures that can be…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

For a national program assessing college graduates to succeed, it must be institutionalized at the majority of colleges and universities in the nation. The information generated must play a clear and key role in formulating state and institutional higher education policy, college matriculation standards, and degree-granting decisions. Such an…

Four presentations from the 1985 Annual Michigan School Testing Conference on "Assessing Higher Order Skills" are offered in this paper, and the chairman of the First General Session provides an introductory section. The papers individually and collectively address the problem of defining higher order thinking skills. A second major…

Writing encompasses a wide range of skills, from the mechanics of punctuation and spelling to the systematic or even creative development of ideas. The higher order skills of communication necessarily involve critical thinking and problem solving, and an assessment of the writing of advanced students will be able to encompass these other higher…