Abstract. This study delved into students’ thinking skills in dealing with real-life situations and how such skills are associated with their academic performance in the following core subjects: Mathematics, Science, and English. The research is quantitative, specifically a descriptive-correlational type. The respondents came from four big private schools in Dumaguete City. An adapted questionnaire was utilized to gauge the students’ thinking skills, and their academic performance was garnered based on their grades in the three core subjects. Percentages means, and chi-square tests were utilized as data treatment tools. The data indicated that students demonstrated a "very satisfactory" level of performance in Mathematics and Science, whereas their performance in English was notably "outstanding." Furthermore, the results showed that nearly half of the students use their problem-solving, decision-making, and thinking skills in dealing with real-life situations, while only a few of them struggle to effectively utilize the aforementioned skills. The data further revealed that the students’ performance in Mathematics and Science and their thinking skills in dealing with real-life situations are significantly correlated.

Keywords: Social behavior; Thinking skills; Academic performance; Core subjects; Critical thinking