Purpose: Assesses the critical thinking skills of nursing students in the context of nursing practice. This test evaluates students on 19 critical thinking behaviors, which measure these five critical thinking skills: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, and explanation. Items are written in the framework of the nursing process and address nine nursing content areas including research, legal/ethical, leadership, health promotion/risk management, and therapeutic communication.

Format: 120 multiple-choice, four-option items.

Administration: Can be administered in two and one-half hours. This test should be scheduled at the completion of the educational program. This test may be administered as a computer-based test (CBT) or paper-based test (PBT). All achievement CBT and PBTs must be administered in a secure, proctored environment unless otherwise directed.

Scoring: A total score and four subscores are provided in the areas of critical thinking skills, nursing content, nursing process, and safe, effective care environment. Normative data are based on the performance of students in RN programs.

Norms have been computed so that faculty can compare the performance of their students with that of students in other programs throughout the country. The score report for the Critical Thinking in Clinical Nursing Practice-RN exam consists of a total score and four subscores. The score report provides the total number correct, the percentage correct, and the corresponding percentile rank. The percentile rank indicates the percentage of students falling at or below a specific score in the normative sample. It enables faculty to compare the performance of their students with a national sample. Subscores are reported to provide diagnostic information and to suggest areas that may require further study.