“Sophisticated cognitive ability, including the ability to understand complex concepts, to compare and contrast different opinions, or to apply conflicting information to the solution of a problem that has more than one answer. Although such skills are highly praised today—and indeed, often prized above content knowledge—they cannot be attained without also gaining mastery of a significant amount of knowledge to think critically about.”
Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.