Achievement Test
Test designed to evaluate mastery of a given body of material. Grades are generally based on achievement tests. The SAT (Stanford Achievement Tests) is an example of an achievement test. See also Aptitude Test
Aptitude Test
Test designed to predict how well students are likely to perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples of aptitude tests are teh SAT-I and the ACT, both of which attempt to forecast how well high school students will perform in college. See also Achievement Test.
Assessment
1. Evaluation of student performance. 2. A component of the instructional environment that provides feedback which can be used to improve teaching and enhance learning. Assessment activities ought to help us improve the learning experience and validate what appears to be working successfully. Assessments activities are often categorized as "formative" or "summative".
Critical Thinking
The art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it (Foundation for Critical Thinking).
Epistemology
The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion (Wikipedia).
Stereotype Threat
The term refers to being at risk [given a specific set of contextual circumstances] of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group as a self-characteristic [i.e., a personal trait]. For example, Let's say that you find yourself in a situation in which you realize that someone may have a steretotype about you [because of you physical appearance, gender or any other general characteristic of social group] and there is a part of you that is afraid that your [about to be undertaking] action and behavior will prove to that person that the stereotype is true. The concept was first introduced in seminal publication of Steele and Arsonson (1995) (see also ResearchGate link).
System Thinking
A set of synergistic analytic skills used to improve the capability of identifying and understanding systems, predicting their behaviors, and devising modifications to them in order to produce desired effects (Arnold and Wade, 2015)