An Assessment of Critical Thinking among Senior High School Students: A Basis for Intervention

Abstract

This study assessed the level of critical thinking skills among Senior High School students at Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School as a basis for an instructional intervention. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed, using a validated questionnaire that measured six components of critical thinking: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. The respondents consisted of 162 Grade 12 students selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 279 students. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and mean. The demographic profile revealed that most respondents were female, aged 16–17 and enrolled in the Computer System Servicing strand. The results showed that the overall level of critical thinking skills was high. All components were rated high, with self-regulation obtaining the highest mean, followed by inference, explanation, interpretation, and evaluation, while analysis obtained the lowest mean score of 3.81. The findings indicate that students demonstrate a high level of critical thinking skills; however, analytical skills require further improvement. Based on the results, an instructional intervention program was proposed to strengthen students’ analytical and problem-solving skills. The study concludes that targeted instructional interventions may further enhance students’ critical thinking skills and support their academic development. ‎