title: The Relationship Between the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and Student Learning Outcomes in Baccalaureate Nursing Students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Critical thinking is the foundation for nurses' decision making. One school of nursing used the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) to document improvement in critical thinking dispositions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study of 96 nursing students' records examined the relationships between the CCTDI and learning outcomes. Correlational statistics assessed relationships between CCTDI scores and cumulative grade point averages (GPA) and scores on two Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) examinations. Ordinal regression assessed predictive relationships between CCTDI scores and science course grades and NCLEX-RN success.
  
  
  RESULTS
  First-year CCTDI scores did not predict first-year science grades. Senior-year CCTDI scores did not correlate with cumulative GPA or HESI RN Exit Exam scores, but were weakly correlated with HESI Pharmacology Exam scores. CCTDI scores did not predict NCLEX-RN success.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study did not identify meaningful relationships between critical thinking dispositions, as measured by the CCTDI, and important learning outcomes. The results do not support the efficacy of using the CCTDI in nursing education.
authors.forename: Lisabeth Meade
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Searing
authors.forename: Wendy Carter
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Kooken
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013850:Thinking