The cognitive reflection test and students’ achievements in mathematics and physics

Abstract

The cognitive reflection test (CRT) assesses an individual’s capacity to restrain impulsive and intuitive responses and to engage in critical reflection on mathematical problems. The literature indicates that several factors influence students’ performance on CRT, including gender, age, and prior knowledge of mathematics. In this study, our objective was to investigate the correlation between CRT scores and students’ achievements in both mathematics and physics. We conducted our research with a sample of 150 Italian high school students, and the findings revealed a positive predictive relationship between CRT scores and students’ performance in both mathematics and physics. Furthermore, we employed an ordinal logistic regression to evaluate the impact of CRT scores, gender, and school level on students’ achievements in mathematics and physics. The results showed that both CRT scores and school level had statistically significant effects on predicting these achievements. In contrast, gender emerged as a statistically significant factor only in predicting students’ mathematics achievements.