Abstract
The modern engineering workplace requires graduates that are able to handle cognitively
demanding tasks. However, evidence from the literature suggests that employers are often
critical of graduates for lacking higher-order problem solving and critical thinking skills. This
paper examines gains made on the part of first, second and fourth year students within an
engineering degree program with respect to their ability to handle assessment tasks of varying
cognitive demand. Assessment tasks were classified according to Biggs’ Structure of the
Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. The results indicate that while fourth year
students displayed greater facility with calculation-type questions, they performed worse than
their first and second year counterparts on questions that required higher-order thinking and
reasoning.