All over the world, the education system is constantly undergoing transformations. The changes might not be apparent to everyone, but they are being made.
The work that is put into developing and introducing new models of education procedure is often extensive. One such example is the Thinking Skills Assessment or TSA test created by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing.The test recognizes the importance of higher order thinking skills.
What Is Thinking Skills Assessment?
In universities like Cambridge and Oxford, the admissions process is sophisticated and selective. Since they have to select few (Cambridge had an acceptance rate of around 21% in 2014-2015) among thousands of applications, an admissions test is conducted. The purpose of the test is to grant admission to the most deserving of the applicants and highlight the benefits of critical thinking for students.
Thinking Skills Assessment is an entrance exam that can be used generically because it tests the aptitude and critical thinking ability of students.
What Is The Format Of TSA?
There are two sections that the candidates have to solve, although sometimes the second section is omitted. During the 90 minutes allotted for the first section, candidates have to solve 50 multiple choice questions. These questions are based on numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning and critical thinking. The second section consists of a single essay question in which candidates can choose among four topics given to them.
The TSA test is currently being used for admission at the University of Cambridge. Also, candidates applying for several courses like Economics and Management, Experimental Psychology, etc. at Oxford University are required to appear for Thinking Skills Assessment.
What Are The Benefits Of TSA?
The test is advantageous for the universities as well as for the students. TSA is a great example of how higher order thinking skills questions can be used to evaluate a candidate.
- The universities are able to have a generic entrance exam that can be applied to any program
- The Thinking Skills Assessment Oxford provides an insight on the general intellectual abilities of the potential students
- For the candidates, TSA score can help win scholarships
- It also provides a basis for the choice in career or future goals and endeavors
Education Institutes and Organisations can conduct TSA for selection Process
- Selection of candidate using means for entrance exam of higher education or recruitment can use this methodology of TSA.
- Questions related to thinking skills can be designed. Thinking skill assessment is entirely based on thinking ability of the students to analyze image shown and answer appropriately.
- Thinking skill assessment does not focus on any domain knowledge or educational concepts.
- Candidates from variety of education background can be assessed with reference to their thinking ability, decision making skill in short period of 60 minutes.
- Thinking skill assessment helps to analyze of candidate has the critical thinking and problem-solving skills which are essential for success in any domain.
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It is useful tool for Various Test Preparations, Entrance Tests for Academic Courses, Regular Assessment for University Courses. Many Education entities have been benefited with this new approach of the assessment. You can enroll for Free Trial to check all features.
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