This study assessed overall critical thinking ability in graduate and undergraduate students in special education at a southwestern university. A comparison of the two groups resulted in significant differences on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form Short (WGCTA-FS) subscales for Inference, Recognition of Assumption, Deduction, and Total Critical Thinking. Conclusions amalgamate Council for Exceptional Children Standards for a Beginning Special Educator, Bloom's Taxonomy, and the Critical Thinking Scale of the Watson-Glaser-FS. Findings reinforce the need for rigorous mentorship of the novice special educator and direct instruction for the pre service educator in critical thinking through participation in research coursework. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)