Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the assessment criteria for higher-order critical and analytical thinking skills in writing-intensive curricula in first-year, general education courses. The courses varied in emphasis on critical thinking in the criteria used to assess writing. The analysis is grounded in social constructivist and sociocultural theories of writing. Students in a course featuring explicit, detailed criteria for assessing critical thinking skills rated such criteria as more useful to their learning, than did students in a course with fewer criteria focused on critical thinking. The perceived usefulness of the more elaborate rubric did not come at the expense of its clarity and ease of use. Results are discussed in reference to insights about the relationship between student attitudes and classroom assessment practices. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)