Featured Success Story Winners:

"My mom started me on Building Thinking Skills® when I was about 5.  She used the figural book as a special reward for when I'd finished my other homework. During my first year of college at UC Berkeley, we had isometric drawings for an engineering class. Many people found this to be the most difficult part of the course.  I had been doing these exercises since kindergarten! I owe my A in that class to The Critical Thinking Co.™!" - Hillary Green, CA

"I am writing in regards to my student Patrick and his amazing test results with the Reading Detective® B1.  Last school year his test scores showed that he had difficulty and scored Low Average in a few particular areas in reading:  identify text, locate information, evaluating validity and credibility, and responding to text.  His mother found the Reading Detective® and began working with Patrick over the summer.  In August, I began working with Patrick and saw how not only he really enjoyed reading the passages, but his skills were growing by leaps and bounds!  In September, he did our district MAPs (Measure of Academic Progress) test and every skill he was Low Average on last year he was NOW High Average to High!  I cannot be more thrilled with these results!  I am recommending the Reading Detective® to all my families who struggle in these areas of reading!" - Aly Hethcoat, KS

"Think-A-Minutes has really allowed me to pinpoint my children's strengths and weaknesses. My second-grade son most often asks for help on pages that contain verbal skills. My fourth-grade daughter most often asks for help on visual/ figural skills. This information has allowed me to fine tune our curriculum. I ask for more math pages to be done of the second-grader and have added the Reading Detective® to stretch his verbal and comprehension skills. I have moved my verbally strong daughter up a level in comprehension and literature analysis as well as slowing down on geometry concepts to allow for more hands on and discussion time. Thank you, Think-a-Minutes for such a valuable and fun diagnostic tool." - Melody

"I recently purchased the Mathematical Reasoning™ Beginning 1 book for my son who just turned 3 years old.  He absolutely loves it!  The first day we looked at the book, he completed the first 13 pages and can now recognize when a set has 3 members just by looking at the picture!  I love that the instructions are so simple and understandable; it really keeps him engaged.  As a math instructor, I am so happy that it looks like I may have a math-brain in my family after all!  He asks to do his math schoolwork every day!" - Janelle Lorenzen, LA

"I teach children that have been identified gifted. Your catalog is one of the few that I order from year after year. Wanting to increase vocabulary I decided to purchase Word Roots. It is everything I was searching for and more. It goes beyond 'spelling tests' and teaches students to decipher words based upon prefixes, suffixes, and roots. The focus is on meaning which in turn increases comprehension. My students enjoy watching the buildings appear when they reach 90% mastery. I seldom hear complaints when having to redo activites because of the technology used. This year I had several students so successful that I had to order Level B. I teach fifth grade. Keep up the good work-you are right on target with gifted children." - Cecilia Harkey, NC

"As a former elementary teacher, and presently a homeschooling mom, I highly recommend Building Thinking Skills®. My daughter is gifted with strong language art skills, but had confidence issues in math matters. I began using Building Thinking Skills® Level 1 in her third grade year as a way to strengthen her critical thinking skills and build her confidence. It only took about 10 minutes of our school day, and she usually completed 2 pages within that time, except when she wanted to keep on working! (You know a product is a success when the students don't want to put it down!) Both her confidence and reasoning skills improved, and along with those, her standardized test score made an amazing leap. As I was choosing curriculum for her fourth grade year, she ASKED to use Level 2. I know I had a big smile on my face as I said 'Of course, you can!' She is now just a few days away from completing Building Thinking Skills® Level 2. We are both very pleased with your products, and are currently poring over your catalogue, enthusiastically choosing more products for next year!" - Amy Johnson, TX

"I am a certified teacher in math and history. My 13-year-old niece and her friend homeschool with me, and I was looking for curriculum materials in language arts, since I had accumulated very little in that area. Thanks to a friend, I was introduced to your products, and we now use both the Word Roots series and the Editor-in-Chief® series. They now look forward to their grammar sessions, instead of dreading the boring drills in their previous books."- Jane Turner, FL

"I am a very experienced teacher and cognitive trainer. I own and direct a learning center and I have used the Building Thinking Skills® materials with my students. The success of developing the critical thinking skills is outstanding with these materials. One of my students was in the Special Education program for years; after working with the Building Thinking Skills® books he returned to grade level in seven months. I have worked with various brands of thinking skills materials, but The Critical Thinking Co.™ has the best on the market. I highly recommend these materials." - Claudette Anderson, Prescription for Success Learning Center, CO

"Our family loves your Mathematical Reasoning® series.  My son will be completing level C by the end of this school year. As a former public school teacher and now a home school mom, I have looked at many math curriculums and yours is by far the best I have seen and used. I am so glad you are continuing this series and can't wait to see the next book." - Wendy Park, TX

"Our school had a low rate of children qualifying for advanced math. I started using Math Ties with them, and we had over 10 students in one class qualify for 7th grade math as 5th graders! I know that the key was the higher level thinking required in Math Ties." - Cassandra, VA

"I have been using The Critical Thinking Co. materials for 17 years. Our 1st son is an honor student at the University, and our 2nd son, a senior in high school, just scored a perfect 800 on the critical reading section of the SAT. He says, 'After all of those Editor in Chief® books, how could I not do well, mom!' Thanks Critical Thinking Company." - Melissa Steadley, OK

Teacher Testimonials:

"I have been teaching for 38 years.  I started using Midwest Publication materials in the 1970's while working with gifted students.  The critical thinking materials have provided a constant challenge for my students.  The Mind Benders were one of their favorite activities.  I have continued to use your curriculum materials for more than 30 years.  I have made it a point of sharing your critical thinking books with other teachers.  Thank you for enhancing the minds of youngsters." - Dennis Schuman

"In my 17 years in the district, I haven't seen anything work the way [the Building Thinking Skills] program did. The improvement was phenomenal, especially for our at-risk populations and second-language students." - Gayle Polk, Guidance Counselor, East Elem. School, Monroe, NC

"For 12 years, I've recommended your company to my teacher-training students. Your materials are exceptionally valuable to teachers. Critical Thinking not only produces quality materials, but your fine company is unusually responsive to needs and questions of the individual teacher as well as of the big school districts." - Dr. Leonard Martin, Teacher Education Program, University of Denver

"The standard curriculums weren't working as well as I had hoped. The students were becoming impatient with all the repetition, but with these books, they've become eager to learn again." - Priscilla, educator, Walpole, MA

"I credit you in helping both my [students] and me to learn the thinking skills needed for success." - Michelle, educator, Broad Run, VA

"We see great results in Thinking Skills from using your products. Your work has produced positive results and, I believe, higher test scores." - Luine, educator, Baytown, TX

"My students really enjoyed the mental challenge of the problems posed them. The excitement that I saw coming from [their] faces as they worked cooperatively to solve problems was mind-boggling to me. -Leska, educator, Charleston, WV

"[This] company offers every imaginable means of teaching critical thinking to every student. I have found no other company that offers such specialized materials and that is so totally committed to such a difficult task in today's society." - Elizabeth, educator, Richmond, VA

"Your publications help to make significant learning happen for my students, and I have promoted your products in countless speeches and workshops I have given to teachers around the country. You have found ways to engage students in thinking and performance and the interactive approach is one I recommend highly and often." - Jeff, Professor of Education, Tampa, FL

"Critical Thinking has uniquely captured the method of teaching students not only how to think logically, but to apply logic to the process of learning in every subject area. [M]any companies have begun to jump on the bandwagon and produce materials that use the critical thinking label, but the contents are the same old drill and practice, and our students know the difference right away. - Peggy, educator, Tucson, AZ

"[P]eople often ask me what to order from TCTC. I tell them, not even jokingly, that I can't help them. I'd advise them to order everything. - Melanie, educator, Marshall, MO

"I've become a Critical Thinking convert. I tell everyone who asks that if I were starting all over from scratch I'd focus my whole curriculum on materials from The Critical Thinking Company. That may sound extreme, but I've seen [students] make phenomenal progress since I deempha-sized rote memorization. - Kathe, educator, Garland, TX

"[The Complete The Picture Math] activities were a great way to practice reading and following directions while reviewing math concepts." - Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer

"My district really wants students to be able to explain how they got an answer and to show it, so this is great." -  Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer (regarding Complete The Picture Math)

"This product provides a challenging yet engaging means to assess necessary, basic word usage skills, and includes important, meaningful writing connections." -  Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer

"I especially like the way students get a deeper understanding of the words used and improve their thinking and writing skills." -  Teachers' Choice Award Reviewer (regarding Vocabulary Smarts)