2007 National Academy on Critical Thinking Testing and Assessment

Testing and Assessment

How Can We Best Test and Assess Critical Thinking?

Three-Day Academy
September 11-13, 2007
DoubleTree Hotel and Marina, Near UC Berkeley, CA

The Foundation for Critical Thinking invites you to attend an academy focused on the testing and assessment of critical thinking. Established tests will be compared with new tests and instruments under development by the Foundation for Critical Thinking, including both multiple-choice and constructed–response tests.  Comprehensive and subject-specific approaches will be canvassed, as well as critical thinking reading and writing tests.  Emphasis will be put on the concept of “consequential validity” (that is, the likely impact upon teaching and learning by adopting one or another testing and assessment protocol).  Summative and formative evaluation will be covered as well as norm-referenced vs. criterion-referenced testing.

This academy is designed for faculty and administrators at high school, community college, college and university levels.

Participants will leave the academy with a higher level of critical thinking testing and assessment literacy, and will therefore be in a better position to choose an institutional approach to the testing of critical thinking that squares well with established educational goals and concerns.

About us…

The Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking have together hosted critical thinking academies and conferences for more than a quarter century. During that time, we have played a key role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of fair-minded critical thought in education and in society.

Throughout our work we emphasize and argue for the importance of teaching for critical thinking in a strong, rather than a weak, sense. We are committed to a clear and "substantive" concept of critical thinking (rather than one that is ill-defined); a concept that interfaces well with the disciplines, that integrates critical with creative thinking, that emphasizes the affective as well as the cognitive dimension of critical thinking, that highlights intellectual standards and traits. We advocate a concept of critical thinking that organizes instruction in every subject area at every educational level, around it, on it, and through it.

The academy will be led alternately by Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder, Fellows of the Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Testing Academy Schedule

The Microsoft Word document below contains the times, dates and sessions for the 2007 National Academy on Critical Thinking Testing and Assessment.

Conference Hotel Information

For Hotel Reservations  

 Call the Berkeley DoubleTree Directly at 510.548.7920

About the Hotel and Its Amenities:

• The hotel has 370 spacious guest rooms, All with balconies or patios and many with views.
• All guestrooms offer high-speed internet access.
• The hotel offers the waterside Bay Grille Restaurant and Lounge.
• The hotel is pleased to offer the Discounted Group Rate of $123.50 per room, per night. This group rate is available through Aug. 20th, 2007. This rate is for a standard room and does not include tax. 
• In room coffee, two daily newspapers delivered, hair dryer and iron with ironing board.
• Stay in shape at the hotel’s complimentary fitness center and miles of bayside running trails.
• Order Room Service, to round out the pampering!
• Complimentary shuttle service to downtown Berkeley, North Berkeley BART Station, "Trendy" 4th Street Shops, and UC-Berkeley Campus
• ( 2 ) Staffed state-of-the-art business centers with computers, high speed internet access, copier, fax, and phone.
• Complimentary parking for all attendees and guests!

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• The hotel offers complimentary parking for all academy guests and attendees.
• The hotel offers complimentary use of its 2 indoor pools, and fitness center featuring a whirlpool, sauna, workout room and locker room.
• The hotel offers complimentary local shuttle to virtually anywhere in Berkeley including the Bay Area Rapid Transit station for easy access to San Francisco.
• For more information on interesting things to do in Berkeley visit: www.visitberkeley.com

For Shuttle to the Hotel

https://www.bayporter.com/ Please check website for reservation information. Reservations not necessary but recommended.
From Oakland Airport: $23 for first passenger, $12 each additional passenger
From SFO: $29 for first passenger, $12 each additional passenger
If you are traveling in a group of 7, you may reserve a van @ the following rates:
$80 Oakland Airport to Berkeley Marina / $85 SFO to Berkeley Marina

https://supershuttle.com/  Please check website for rates and reservation information.

You may also take Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from both airports.
https://www.bart.gov/index.asp .  The stop is the 'North Berkeley' BART station, approximately 1.5 miles from the hotel.  The DoubleTree has a complimentary shuttle that operates within a 3 mile radius of the hotel.  It is on a first come first served basis and a maximum of 9 per shuttle run.  Please call the hotel at 510-548-7920 to arrange to be picked up at the BART station when you arrive.