Predicting Factor Scores of Critical Thinking Ability From Features of Essay Texts

The performance of predicting factor scores of critical thinking ability between combinations of estimated variables from essay texts are compared. Four factor scores are predicted using features estimated from individual essays with three BERT models which were trained, as well as automated essay assessment. The results suggest that prediction performance for factor scores is better than prediction performance using estimations from essay texts. The type of essay text affects prediction performance. However, some of the factor scores cannot be predicted using only variables estimated from essay texts. In addition, the contribution of individual characteristics and their factors to predicting critical thinking ability has been confirmed.