DEVELOPMENT OF COMPONENTS, INDICATORS, AND A CRITICAL THINKING TEST FOR STUDENTS IN THE HIGH VOCATIONAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Abstract

This study utilized a research and development approach. The objectives of the research were to: 1) Study and synthesize the components and indicators of critical thinking for High Vocational Certificate students, and 2) Develop a high-quality critical thinking test for students in the High Vocational Certificate Program that effectively meets the established criteria for professional assessment tools. The informants consisted of five academic experts who evaluated the suitability of the synthesized components and indicators, along with fifty-nine High Vocational Certificate students from Prachinburi Technical College who participated in the trial and quality verification of the instrument. The research tools utilized in this study included a suitability assessment form for the components and indicators of critical thinking, a content validity evaluation form, and the developed critical thinking test. Data analysis was performed using content analysis, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test statistics. The research findings revealed that: 1) The synthesis yielded six components and thirty indicators of critical thinking, which were rated as highly appropriate by the experts ( = 3.72, S.D. = 0.45). and 2) The resulting critical thinking test was designed as a situational assessment consisting of forty individual questions. Every question demonstrated a content validity index ranging from 0.80 to 1.00. The reliability of the entire test, calculated using the Kuder-Richardson formula (KR-20), was 0.76. Furthermore, the test demonstrated strong construct validity through its ability to differentiate between the critical thinking abilities of the “high-ability” group and the “general-ability” group. It was found that the high-ability group obtained significantly higher average scores than the general group at the .01 level of statistical significance. These results reflect that the developed critical thinking test can effectively discriminate between different groups of students according to the established hypothetical framework, thereby confirming that the assessment possesses reliable construct validity.