INTRODUCTION The promotion of critical thinking ranks among the primary goals for educators today (Elder, 2004). As reported in a review of literature by the Office of Outcomes Assessment of the University of Maryland in 2006, critical thinking as an outcome of postsecondary education was made explicit by several recent national reports (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1985; National Education Goals Panel, 1991; National Institute of Education Study Group, 1984). As such, the topic of critical thinking is of interest to educators. Various definitions of critical thinking have been offered. They all share a common set of meanings. Critical thinking refers to the use of cognitive skills or strategies and involves solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions. According to the manual for the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) developed by Peter and Noreen Facione, an important consensus with regard to the concept of critical thinking was announced in 1990 by a panel of theoreticians drawn from throughout the United States and Canada representing several academic fields. These experts characterized critical thinking as the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment (Facione, 1990). Critical thinking, so defined, is the cognitive engine which drives problem-solving and decision-making. At the core of critical thinking are the cognitive skills of reasoning, evaluation, analysis and inference.