Critical Thinking Skills Program
Workforce Readiness in the Age of AI
AI and automation are reshaping how we learn, work, and communicate—making higher-order skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and effective communication more essential than ever. While 57% of students enter college without proficiency in these skills, and 47% still lack them at graduation, the good news is: they can be taught.
CAE’s Critical Thinking Skills Program helps institutions build these human-centered skills at scale. Through flexible, performance-based assessments and instructional tools, colleges and universities can boost student engagement and retention, improve career readiness, and strengthen their reputation with employers, alumni, and prospective students.
Whitepaper: Unlocking Student Potential in Higher Education
In today’s fast-changing world, employers are looking for more than just technical knowledge—they’re seeking graduates who can think critically, solve problems, and communicate effectively.
CAE’s latest whitepaper outlines the strategic opportunity higher education institutions have to improve student outcomes, boost retention, and enhance institutional value by integrating these essential skills into the core of their academic experience.
A Comprehensive Program to Build Future-Readiness
CAE’s Critical Thinking Skills Program enhances your institution’s existing curriculum and includes the training, instructional materials, and assessments to create a robust system for skill development and measurement.
Professional Development
Support educators to incorporate critical thinking skills into their course content and teach higher-order skills with confidence. CAE also provides training and guidance to faculty who want to develop their own practice performance tasks.
Performance- Based Assessments
Place students in real-world scenarios that require them to demonstrate their ability to analyze information, solve problems, and communicate effectively. This process authentically measures a student’s ability to think critically and mirrors the tasks students will be asked to perform in professional settings.
Critical Thinking Instructional Materials
Introduce students to foundational critical thinking concepts, build a shared vocabulary, and guide them through a practical seven-step framework they can apply to analyze information, solve problems, and navigate real-world scenarios.
Critical Thinking Performance Tasks
Provide students with opportunities to deliberately practice applying reasoning, analysis, and written communication in real-world scenarios aligned with course content—making coursework more relevant and future-focused.
Reports & Insights
Measure and monitor student growth in critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. Our performance-based assessments provide actionable data for institutions and personalized reports students can share with employers to demonstrate workforce readiness.
How the Critical Thinking Skills Program Works
CAE’s Critical Thinking Skills Program is a proven approach to building and measuring workforce skills. Our simple, scalable model is designed for seamless integration and broad impact.
Partner Spotlight: Texas A&M Mays Business School
Learn how Texas A&M’s Mays Business School has responded to the needs of employers and a shifting economy by integrating critical thinking skills instruction into their curriculum.
The result? Thousands of MBS students are now trained in the workforce skills that 95% of students believe are vital to their future success and that employers say matter most—critical thinking (79%), problem solving (74%), and written communication (77%).
Improve Decision Making About Programs, Instruction, and Student Supports to Build Critical Thinking
Make smarter, data-informed decisions about how your institution supports critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication. Whether you’re evaluating curriculum, instructional practices, or student interventions, CAE provides the insights you need to measure what matters.
Our research and evaluation tools help you answer questions like:
- How strong are your students’ skills?
- How do they stack up against peers at similar schools?
- Are your programs and supports really making a difference?
- How are at-risk students progressing?
- What’s the link between these skills and students’ academic success? Career success?
With detailed student-level feedback and institutional reporting, you’ll gain a clear view of strengths, gaps, and growth over time—including peer benchmarking and optional value-added analysis. Use these data to guide decisions that lead to stronger outcomes for students and your institution.
Partner With CAE to Build Workforce Readiness
CAE’s Critical Thinking Skills Program gives every student the opportunity to build, practice, and demonstrate the workforce skills that last a lifetime.
“The experience was very positive and engaging for both students and myself. It was really rewarding to see the students start to actively incorporate the notion of critical thinking and its characteristics.”
~ Faculty Member