Assessment Instrument of Critical Thinking Skills for Student on Light Interaction with Organisms

Oct 5, 2026

Critical thinking skills are essential 21st-century capabilities that can be developed and measured through science learning. This study aimed to produce an assessment instrument for junior high school students’ critical thinking regarding light interaction with organisms. The instrument was developed as a multiple-choice test, following preliminary study, item preparation, expert content validity, empirical validity, and reliability testing. Sixty students were sampled from Tebing Tinggi. It covers five aspects: basic clarification, basic support, inference, advanced clarification, and strategy and tactics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Critical Thinking Skills Framework

Research Background

Assessment Instrument of Critical Thinking Skills for Student on Light Interaction with Organisms Tariza Fairuz 1* 1STIT Al-Hikmah Tebing Tinggi, Indonesia * [tariza.fairuz@stitalhikmah-tt.ac.id](tariza.fairuz@stitalhikmah-tt.ac.id) Abstract Critical thinking skills are one of the skills needed in the 21st century. These skills can be developed and measured in science learning. This study aimed to produce an assessment instrument that can be used to measure critical thinking skills of junior high school students. This assessment instrument was developed in the multiplechoice test. The stages of development include a preliminary study, preparation of item questions, test of content validity by experts and empiric validity, and reliability test. A total of 60 junior highschool students in Tebing Tinggi became the research sample. This assessment instrument consists of five aspects of critical thinking skills, basic clarification, basic support, inference, advance clarification, and strategy and tactics. 7 of the 25 items are valid with high criteria, 11 are valid with medium criteria and 7 others are valid with low criteria. Reliability test used the Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) approach and the results are reliable with high criteria. The analysis showed that the developed critical thinking skills of junior high school students on the theme of light interaction with organisms. Keywords: critical thinking skills, instrument for assessing, validity, reliability, light Introduction The challenges in the 21st century according to Martin (2007) are climate change, global poverty, population growth, war, species extinction, creativity, transhumanism, and the gap between skill and wisdom. These challenges must be faced through education, including science education. The quality of science education in Indonesia needs to be improved in cognitive, attitudes and skills. This is in accordance with the objectives of national education, namely developing abilities and forming a dignified national character and civilization in order to educate the nation's life, aiming at developing the potential of students to become human beings who believe and fear God Almighty, competent, creative, independent, and become democratic and responsible citizens. This indicates that the quality of science education must be able to develop the skills needed in the 21st century. 21st century skills are divided into 4 categories by Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S), namely way of thinking, way of working, tools for working, and skills for living in the world (Griffin, McGaw, & Care, 2012) . They divide way of thinking skills category into creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making , way of working category into communication skills, collaboration and teamwork, tools for working category become awareness as global citizens and citizens, local, life and career development, and a sense of personal and social responsibility, and skills for living in the world into skills based on information literacy, mastery of new information and communication technology, and the ability to learn and work through digital social networks. The demands for skills in the 21st century have been included in the 2013 curriculum, presented in the science learning syllabus in accordance with Permendikbud Number 20 of 2016 concerning Primary and Secondary Education Graduate Competency Standards in the skills dimension, namely having creative, productive, critical thinking and acting skills , independent, collaborative, and communicative through a scientific approach according to what is learned in educational units and other sources independently (No. P, year 2016) . Critical thinking skills are one of the skills listed in the Graduate Competency Standards that need to be trained and developed. Critical thinking are skill that use basic, reflective, and active intellectual thought processes to skillfully analyze ar

FAQs

What is the purpose of the assessment instrument in this study?

To measure junior high school students’ critical thinking skills in the context of light interaction with organisms.

How was the instrument developed and validated?

It followed stages including preliminary study, preparing item questions, expert content validity, empiric validity testing, and reliability testing.

What aspects of critical thinking skills does the instrument assess?

Five aspects are assessed: basic clarification, basic support, inference, advanced clarification, and strategy and tactics.

Oct 5, 2026

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