The evaluation of students' reflective writing for evidence of critical thinking.

The purpose of this study was to establish interrater reliability of the Critical Thinking Scale (CTS), a teacher-accessible tool designed to measure the critical thinking of baccalaureate nursing students as evidenced in their reflective writing about their practice experiences.The study is an extension of an earlier pilot test of the CTS. Graduating students from a nursing program at a small liberal arts college were asked to write about a significant practice experience encountered during their last clinical course. Three teachers used the CTS to independently evaluate the students' writing. California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) scores provided a standard measure of critical thinking. Results indicated statistically significant positive relationships between the CCTST total critical thinking score and mean teacher ratings using the CTS. Meaningfully significant interrater reliability ratings for the CTS were also found. With further development, the CTS has promise as an appropriate tool to evaluate students' reflective writing for evidence of critical thinking.