The issue of higher-order thinking skills in Indonesia began to be raised in line with the changing goals of mathematics learning. The efforts have been made to be able to produce improved thinking skills, one of which is the PINTER model. This study aimed to see if there are any differences in higher-order thinking skills and mathematical communication between students who learn using the PINTER mathematics learning model and students who learn using conventional learning models. This research was a quasi-experimental study with all 7th-grade students of SMP in Purworejo Regency as a population. Stratified cluster random sampling was used to draw a sample of 91 students for the experimental group and 96 students for the control group. The research instrument utilized multiple-choice tests and essays given at the end of the 5th learning meeting. A multivariate F-test followed by a univariate t-test was used to analyze data. The results of the study show that: 1) students 'higher-order thinking skills that are subjected to learning PINTER mathematics are better than students who are subjected to traditional learning models, and 2) students' mathematical communication skills that are subjected to learning PINTER mathematics are better than students who are subjected to traditional learning models.