Standardized Testing: Learn to Reason it Out

It is an unavoidable fact that public education in the United States is neither what it should be nor what it once was. As funding has fallen and student assessments have become tied to standardized testing, the public school system has been streamlined into preparations for those tests. Since the bulk of such tests are multiple choice (to facilitate automated grading) students have been taught to memorize the answers rather than to reason them out, and student learning has suffered as a result.

It is quite possible to score very well on a standardized test and retain little to none of the information covered. This is not true education and it should not be acceptable. However, there is little chance that such testing will cease, or that the format will change significantly, or that school funding will be divorced from the test results. Therefore, a method is needed that will ensure better test scores while also ensuring a proper education.

The Critical Thinking Co. has concerned itself with just that for the last 30 years. Critical thinking entails the use of reason and logic to evaluate subject materials to foster true comprehension and develop conclusions based upon that comprehension. At its most basic, critical thinking guides students to the correct answers rather than giving them the answers and requiring memorization.

Both methods may result in better test scores, but usually only one results in increased understanding and educational development. Critical Thinking products have been used by a large majority of the highest-performing high schools in the U.S. (as compiled by Newsweek) and that is no coincidence. We promise better test scores through the use of our products or you can have your money back.