The results of five studies of the relationship between debate training and critical thinking were examined to determine if in fact debate training improves critical thinking skills. All five studies compared the gains on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test (WG) for subjects who had received debate training with control groups who received no training, producing a total of 47 paired comparisons. Meta analysis indicated that 28 pairs favored debate training to improve critical thinking and 19 favored no debate. The analysis equation indicated an 88% chance that the results could be accounted for by chance. The results of this analysis cast substantial doubt on the claimed relationship between debate training and critical thinking skill improvement. (HTH)