Test Validity *California Critical Thinking Skills Test (College);

accreditation process requires documentation of critical thinking (CT) as an outcome of nursing education. This raises two questions: What is meant by CT? and How can it be measured? Building on a consensus construct of CT as articulated in the American Philosophical Association 1990 Delphi Report, this paper traces the development, validation, and pilot testing of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). Item analysis, validity. and reliability of the CCTST are addressed, as are questions of gender, ethnicity, and native language. The pilot instrument, constructed from a pool of items developed over a 20-year research program, was administered to 1,196 college students. Both the consensus concept of CT and the CCTST instrument have applications in response to accreditation standards. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD) *****A.) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ";c****A:.*******.AA.***"i.A:.AA*************************************i.A.: