#4 January 2016 OnePagers
By: Manny Straehle, Stacey McLaughlin, Dasha Bukreyeva, Sherryl Hering, and Austin Fossey
What You Need to Know About Cognitive Levels and Bloom’s Taxonomy
Ourstaffofexpertsoverthepastfewyearshaveconsultedover100credentialingandcertificationexaminationprograms.
Overtheyears,wehaveformulatedamethodtohelpyouconsiderandusecognitivelevelseffectively.
Eval.
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
Example of Application and Above Cognitive Level Question:A72-year-oldmanis
broughttothehospitalsincehehashadpainacrosstherightareaofhisupperchest
forthepast2hours.Histemperatureis100.0°F,pulserateis110/min,andis
medicatedforhypertension.Uponfurtherphysicalexamination,itisrevealedthathe
hasconsumedasignificantamountofliquorandhasnottakenhisbloodpressure
medicineforthepastmonth.Hehasnohistoryofanyheartabnormalitiesandhislast
physicalexaminationrevealednohealthissuesexceptforhypertensionthreemonths
ago.Pleaseestimatefromtherangebelowhisbloodpressure.
Example of Knowledge/Comprehension Cognitive Level Question: Whatisa
normalbloodpressurerange?
Figure1.Bloom’sTaxonomy
What are cognitive levels?
In1956,BenjaminBloomandhiscolleaguesofeducationalpsychologistclassifiedlevelsoflearningasindividualsprogressed
tomastery.Infact,partofthetitleofBloom’staxonomyforthecognitivedomainwascalledaTaxonomy for Educational
Objectives, The Classification of Educational Goals.Often,assessmentprofessionalsforgetthattheseareeducationalgoals
ratherthanassessmentgoals.
What was the intended purpose of cognitive levels?
CognitivelevelswereprimarilydesignedforK-12educatorstowriteinstructionalobjectivesthatcouldlaterbeevaluated.
Bloomandhiscolleagueswrote,“Youarereadingaboutanattempttobuildataxonomyofeducationalobjectives.Itis
intendedtoprovideforclassificationofthegoalsofoureducationalsystem.Itisexpectedtobeofgeneralhelptoallteachers,
administrators,professionalspecialists,andresearchworkerswhodealwithcurricularandevaluationproblems.”(p.1).
Why does the credentialing industry attempt to use cognitive levels?
Someresearchersbelievethattheuseofcognitivelevelsincredentialingstemsfromtheprocessofassessingandevaluating
instructionalobjectives,aswasdemonstratedinRalphTyler’sinfluentialwork.However,manyagreethattheuseofBloom’s
TaxonomywaslinkedtothedemandsofstatetestingafterPresidentJohnsonintroducelegislationasapartofTitle1todefine
thevariouslevelsofskillsacrossK-12students.
What is the issue with Bloom’s Taxonomy related to assessment purposes?
Evenexpertshavedifficultyinclassifyingandunderstandingobjectivesorquestionsaccurately,particularlyathigher
cognitivelevels.Thehierarchyhasbeenshowntohaveissuesandattemptshavebeenmadetoimproveupontheseissues
withrevisedtaxonomies.AtAERE,wehaveobservedthisexperiencewiththesubjectmatterexpertswhohavedifficulty
writingitemsthatrequirehighercognitivelevelsbecausetheyareunabletoaccuratelyclassifytheseassessmentgoalstothe
taxonomy.Hence,thereasonpsychometriciansatAEREhavedevisedmethodstoovercomethisshortcoming.
What does AERE recommend when writing your items pertaining to cognitive levels?
1.Understandthegoalsofyourcertificationprogram.Attheendoftheday,whatdoyouexpectyourcredentialholderto
knowandatwhatlevelofproficiency.
2.Determinethetypeofitemsthatwillbeusedontheexam.Ifitisaperformancebasedassessment,youmaywantto
considerapplicationlevelsratherthanrecallorunderstanding.
3.Whenreviewingthecompletedtestspecifications,perhapsusetwocategoriesforeachtask,knowledge,andother
characteristicstatements.AtAERE,werecommendusingrecall/understandinglevelorappliedlevelinsteadofusingthe
Bloom’scompleteTaxonomysinceitemwritersandothershavedifficultydefiningandrelatingtotheotherlevels.
4.ConsiderusingotherskillandmasterymodelssuchasMiller’smodelorDrefyusandDrefyussincetheyaremoreapplicable.
[email protected]
© 2016 AERE
www.aerexperts.com