Bloom's Taxonomy


Bloom's taxonomy was a framework developed by Benjamin Bloom, Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl to categorise eduational goals.

The original taxonomy consist of six major categories:
  1. Knowledge
  2. Comprehension
  3. Application
  4. Analysis
  5. Synthesis
  6. Evaluation

Each category also contains subcategories, that range from a spectrum of simple to complex and concrete to abstract. But most educators simply remember it by the six main categories.

In 2001, the Bloom's Taxonomy would be revised to emphasise a more dynamism replacing the original categories with verbs. These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.

  1. Remember
  2. Understand
  3. Apply
  4. Analyse
  5. Evaluate
  6. Create
This revised list is what educators use nowadays.



Why Bloom's Taxonomy

In designing assessment, it is important test at an appropriate level of cognitive complexity. If you are mainly concerned with your students memorisation of facts, then questions should mainly be on Remember. However, if you are trying to develop analytical skills, then that same test would be inappropriate.

Knowing quantifiably the level of complexity of your quiz allows you to be surgical in your assessment and hence better understand your student's actual abilities. In the following blog posts, we will be talking about how to create a good quiz.