Development and validation of a higher-order thinking skills assessment scale for pre-service teachers

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are highly required to be possessed by prospective teachers in the 21st century but there are limited studies on the development of appropriate measurement tools for this HOTS. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop a HOTS quantitative assessment instrument for pre-service teachers by collecting data from a sample of 701 pre-service teachers in China. The EFA (n = 310) confirmed a "4-dimensional, 14-factor" assessment structure which includes four main dimensions:critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and practical innovation skills. Moreover, the correlated and hierarchical models run by CFA (n = 392) were consistent with the measurement theory structural assumptions, and the scale was observed to have ideal values of internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The findings suggest that the PT-HOTS Test Scale is reliable and valid to measure the level of HOTS possessed by preservice teachers.