Relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement among senior high school students

The development of critical thinking (CT) among students and its relationship with academic practice should be a primary goal of educational systems worldwide. This study aimed to determine the level of critical thinking among high school students and whether or not it is related to their academic achievement, as well as the most relevant characteristics of the analyzed sample. The study answers two main questions: what is the level of CT in 15 to 18-year-old high school students? And, is there any relationship between students' academic performance and their CT level? A quantitative approach was used as well as a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design. CT was determined by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and the results were processed using STATA statistical software, version 11.