The Development of a Pilot Test to Measure the Critical Thinking Skills of Japanese EFL Learners

Validation by Exploratory Factor Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, critical thinking has become increasingly important in English education in Japan. However, there has been little research conducted on the measurement of critical thinking skills. Thus, this study aimed to examine the validity of a pilot test to measure the critical thinking skills of Japanese EFL learners to obtain useful information for further research. In reference to the Courses of Study and previous research on critical thinking, the construct of critical thinking skills was organized into three categories: (a) clarification－identifying the main points of content, (b) basis of inference－judging the reliability of information, and (c) inference－inferring facts and conclusions from content. Based on this construct, this study developed a multiple-choice-items English test and analyzed the test items using item analysis and factor analysis. The result indicated that the item difficulty of this test was appropriate for the test takers whose English proficiency was at the A2 level of the CEFR. In addition, three factors were extracted, which were the same as the construct of critical thinking skills defined in this study. This study also provides suggestions for developing a critical thinking test with higher validity and reliability.