A strong metric for measuring critical thinking should capture how you reason, evaluate evidence, question assumptions, and justify decisions. This is research-based 5-level metric adapted from well-established higher-education rubrics (AAC&U VALUE Rubric, Facione’s critical thinking framework, and engineering reasoning rubrics).
Level 5 – Sophisticated / Advanced Reasoner
- Identifies problems with depth and nuance.
- Evaluates evidence critically, recognizing limitations, uncertainty, and tradeoffs.
- Integrates diverse sources into a coherent, original argument.
- Consistently questions assumptions (their own and others’) and defends decisions with strong justification.
- Demonstrates metacognition: explains how and why they chose an approach.
Level 4 – Strong / Competent Reasoner
- Clearly defines the problem and its context.
- Uses credible evidence and explains why sources are trustworthy.
- Compares alternative explanations or solutions with thoughtful judgment.
- Acknowledges assumptions and limitations.
- Justifies decisions effectively but with less depth or originality than Level 5.
Level 3 – Functional / Developing Reasoner
- Defines the problem but may oversimplify or omit context.
- Uses evidence but inconsistently evaluates its quality.
- Recognizes alternatives but may not weigh them rigorously.
- Identifies obvious assumptions but misses deeper ones.
- Reasoning is generally logical but not fully articulated or justified.
Level 2 – Emerging / Limited Reasoner
- Problem definition is unclear, narrow, or incomplete.
- Relies on unexamined or weak evidence.
- Rarely considers alternative explanations or solutions.
- Assumptions go unrecognized.
- Justifications are superficial or based on opinion rather than analysis.
Level 1 – Beginning / Minimal Reasoner
- Does not clearly identify the problem or purpose.
- Uses little to no evidence, or accepts information uncritically.
- Provides no meaningful evaluation of alternatives.
- Cannot identify assumptions or biases.
- Reasoning is disorganized, unsupported, or absent.