2021 National Assessment of Critical Thinking, Media Wisdom and Problem Solving in the Third Grade of Secondary Education in Flanders (General - Vocational - Technical Track)

In 2021 a national assessment was carried out, which was commissioned by the Flemish government, to assess the extent to which students have achieved the cross-curricular attainment targets related to critical thinking, media wisdom and problem-solving at the end of the third grade of general, vocational and technical secondary education. A written digital test was administered to assess the attainment targets for critical thinking and media literacy. An additional assignment was administered to assess the attainment targets for problem solving. A representative sample of 2913 pupils from 141 Flemish secondary schools participated. Tests were supplemented with background questionnaires for students, parents and the school. The questionnaires collected, among other things, information on general background characteristics of the students and their families, the use of social media and the school policy. In addition, this survey asked questions about education in times of corona. The response rates for the questionnaires were 92% for students, 63% for parents and 66% for schools.