Students in UW Associate Lecturer Rachel Watson's general microbiology class participate
in an active-learning exercise that promotes collaborative work in the atrium of the
Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility. UW students’ critical-thinking skills improve at a
rate that is among the highest in the nation, according to data analyzed by the Wall
Street Journal. (UW Photo)
The University of Wyoming ranks among the top 15 universities in the nation in helping
students improve their critical-thinking skills, according to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal.
UW stands at No. 14 on the list that appeared June 5 in the newspaper, which submitted
requests to over 100 public institutions for results from the College Learning Assessment
Plus (CLA+), an exam administered by the Council for Aid to Education. The ranking
was based on how much students’ critical-thinking skills improved between their freshman
and senior years, as measured by the exam.
CLA+ has been one measure used by UW over the past decade to assess its performance
in improving students’ critical-thinking, reasoning, writing and problem-solving abilities.
“We are happy to see that our students have gained these skills at a level that ranks
among the best in the nation,” UW Provost Kate Miller says. “While we have seen improvements
in value-added scores for our students since implementing CLA+, the institution continues
to pursue educational practices to improve graduates’ critical-thinking skills to
bring all students to proficient or higher levels.”
According to data from 2015, just 4 percent of UW seniors scored “below basic” on
the exam, compared with 15 percent when they were freshmen. The average score on the
CLA+ went from 1,113 when the students were freshmen to 1,209 when they were seniors
-- a number that actually is higher than 10 of the universities ahead of UW in the
rankings.
Beginning with the fall 2015 semester, UW implemented a new general studies program
that embeds critical- and creative-thinking outcomes throughout required courses.
In addition to critical-thinking and communication skills, the essential outcomes
include intercultural knowledge and engagement; knowledge of human culture and the
physical and natural world; quantitative reasoning; ethical reasoning; and problem-solving
ability.
“UW greatly values instruments that evaluate students’ critical-thinking skills and
believes a variety of measures are vital for understanding learning gains from freshman
to senior year,” says Mark Lyford, UW’s assessment director. “This ranking, based
on CLA+, is one indication that we are on the right track.”
