The document discusses the need for teaching critical thinking skills to high school students. It notes that a lack of critical thinking skills is hindering student growth. The benefits of critical thinking skills include problem solving, decision making, and being able to adapt and succeed. Research shows that critical thinking is not effectively taught currently but can be. The purpose of the research presented is to examine the impact of teaching critical thinking skills on standardized test scores in a science classroom. The significance is that it involves action research by teachers in their own classrooms. Results showed improvement in benchmark test scores and slightly better performance on science problems in standardized testing for the students taught critical thinking skills.