Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Critical Thinking Appraisal Analyzing Conclusions 1

Question 1

A regional hospital tracked readmission rates after implementing a new discharge checklist. Over 12 months, 30-day readmissions dropped from 18% to 13%. Which conclusion is most warranted?

Accepted Answer

The discharge checklist is associated with a reduction in 30-day readmissions.

Answer

The data shows a correlation between the checklist and reduced readmissions, but does not prove causation, universal applicability, or superiority over other methods. The most defensible conclusion is that an association exists.

Question 2

A survey of 1,200 remote workers found that 68% reported higher job satisfaction than they did while working on-site. Which of the following conclusions is best supported?

Accepted Answer

A majority of surveyed remote workers reported greater job satisfaction compared to on-site work.

Answer

The survey result directly supports the conclusion that most respondents reported higher satisfaction — a factual restatement of the data. The other options introduce claims about causation, universality, or predictions not supported by the survey.

Question 3

An e-commerce retailer added live chat support to its website. Over the following quarter, cart abandonment rates fell from 72% to 61%. Which conclusion follows most logically?

Accepted Answer

The introduction of live chat support coincided with a decrease in cart abandonment.

Answer

The data establishes a temporal association between adding live chat and reduced cart abandonment, but does not isolate live chat as the sole cause, predict future trends, or make claims about all chat users.

Question 4

A school district adopted a new math curriculum and found that average standardized test scores rose by 8 points over two years, while a neighboring district using the old curriculum saw scores rise by 3 points. What is the most reasonable conclusion?

Accepted Answer

Students in the district with the new curriculum outperformed their starting baseline by a greater margin than the comparison district.

Answer

The data supports comparing relative improvement between the two districts. It cannot isolate the curriculum as the only variable, condemn the old curriculum, or justify a universal recommendation.

Question 5

A city government installed LED streetlights citywide and reported a 20% reduction in nighttime traffic accidents over the following year. Crime reports in lit areas also dropped by 12%. Which conclusion is most justified?

Accepted Answer

Following the LED streetlight installation, nighttime traffic accidents and crime in lit areas both declined.

Answer

The data documents declines that followed the installation, but cannot definitively attribute causation, predict identical results elsewhere, or rank streetlight type above all other factors affecting crime.

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Critical Thinking Appraisal Analyzing Conclusions 1