List of Benchmarks for Thinking and Reasoning |
| Standard 1. | Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument |
| | Level I (Grade K-2) |
| | 1. | Understands that people are more likely to believe a person’s ideas if that person can give good reasons for them |
| | 2. | Provides coherent (though not necessarily valid or convincing) answers when asked why one believes something to be true or how one knows something |
| | 3. | Asks "how do you know" in appropriate situations (e.g., questioning evidence presented in problems or texts) |
| | Level II (Grade 3-5) |
| | 1. | Uses facts from books, articles, and databases to support an argument |
| | 2. | Identifies basic informal fallacies, including appeals to authority and pity, personal attacks, the use of statements such as "everybody knows," and vague references such as "leading doctors say" |
| | 3. | Understands that reasoning can be distorted by strong feelings |
| | 4. | Analyzes arguments to determine if they are supported by facts from books, articles, and databases |
| | 5. | Asks questions about and seeks better reasons for believing arguments than the assertion that "everybody knows" or "I just know" |
| | Level III (Grade 6-8) |
| | 1. | Evaluates arguments that are based on quantitative data and mathematical concepts |
| | 2. | Questions claims that use vague references such as "leading experts say..." or are based on the statements of people speaking outside of their expertise (e.g., celebrities) |
| | 3. | Questions conclusions based on very small samples of data, biased samples, or samples for which there is no central sample |
| | 4. | Makes basic distinctions between information that is based on fact and information that is based on opinion |
| | 5. | Identifies and questions false analogies |
| | 6. | Identifies and questions arguments in which all members of a group are implied to possess nearly identical characteristics that are considered to be different from those of another group |
| | 7. | Compares and contrasts the credibility of differing accounts of the same event |
| | Level IV (Grade 9-12) |
| | 1. | Identifies techniques used to slant information in subtle ways (e.g., selecting only information that supports a point; ignoring information that contradicts a point) |
| | 2. | Develops logical arguments that are based on quantitative data |
| | 3. | Identifies or seeks out the critical assumptions behind a line of reasoning and uses that to judge the validity of an argument |
| | 4. | Understands that to be convincing, an argument must have both true statements and valid connections among them |
| | 5. | Uses a variety of strategies to construct an argument (e.g., facts, anecdotes, case studies, quotations, logical reasoning, tables, charts, graphs) |
| | 6. | Evaluates the overall effectiveness of complex arguments |
| | 7. | Evaluates an argument objectively by considering all sides of an issue (e.g., using past experience, data, logical analysis |
| | 8. | Knows that a good argument anticipates and attempts to answer objections before they are posed |
| | 9. | Develops a clear and coherent thesis and conclusion for an argument |
