Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

Critical thinking is the ability to recognise that a problem exists and to look for evidence to solve it. It is the ability to assess this evidence in a logical way in order to determine new knowledge and direction. But far more than that, it is seen as a great skill required of all leaders today. As such this makes an ideal assessment at the manager/ senior manager level.

Careful, analytical reasoning is an important part of nearly all management roles and is known to play an important part in a large range of occupations.

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal has been designed to measure some of these important abilities and since its inception has become a highly respected and widely used instrument in the selection and development of graduates, managers and leaders. It is generally acknowledged to be one of the toughest tests of critical thinking available with strong links to performance in role.

2011 Update to the test:

The 2011 update to the assessment builds on the validation and research of the previous version. New items have been created so that there is a larger bank of questions, ensuring that no single form of the test can be copied and reproduced. This new item bank approach will ensure that candidates can be assessed remotely and unsupervised and has reduced the test length to 30 minutes.

Features and Benefits:

Internationally recognised, the robust standardisation, reliability and validity has ensured that this tool is one of the most trusted instruments available.

Acts as a complement to measures of general intelligence (eg numerical reasoning), enabling you to gain an insight into those operating - or with the potential to operate - at a senior level.

Goes beyond reasoning to assess critical thinking.

Areas of use:
 

The Watson-Glaser is widely used in the selection and appraisal of managers. It is also used for leaders and graduates

• Selection – graduates, lateral hires & business support
• Talent Management – identify hidden talent
• Retention – identify areas for development.

An overall score is provided showing the test taker’s percentile score against 5 key norm groups. Including UK General Population, Graduates, Development and Outplacement, Managers and Senior Management.

We have also recalibrated existing norm groups for use with the updated test version. Including legal specific groups such as Graduate applicants to Law Firms (UK)

Results are further broken down into 3 key areas:

Details of these breakdowns are provided in the standard narrative report produced — additional development and interview reports are also available.

To access a sample narrative report click here

To access a sample development report click here

To access a sample recruitment report click here

The available normative groups for this instrument can downloaded here.

To read about how Watson Glaser can be used, click here. Watson Glaser can also be used in a development scenario alongside 360 Degree Feedback

We welcome comment and feedback on our tests. Ian Florance - a former competitor of ours - has given us his view of Watson Glaser and why he chooses to both work with it and recommend it to others. Read his comments here

Assistance for candidates seeking practice tests

We do not supply practice tests or sample questions of critical thinking tests. If you are looking for practice test questions, we recommend the book 'Critical Thinking for Students' by Roy van den Brink-Budgen, ISBN 1-85703-634-4, or other books on critical thinking - available from amazon. There is also a great deal of information, practice test papers, past papers available on the American GMAT tests, which are similar to Watson-Glaser.

'Cracking the GMAT' published by the Princeton Review ISBN 0-375-76194-2 is a good paper on the GMAT also available from amazon.