A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview

The taxonomy of educational objectives is a framework for classifying statements of what we expect or intend students to learn as a result of instruction. The framework was conceived as a means of facilitating the exchange of test items among faculty at various universities in order to create banks of items, each measuring the sameeducational objective. Benjamin S. Bloom, then Associate Director of the Board of Examinations of the University of Chicago, initiated the idea, hoping that it would reduce the labor of preparing annual comprehensive examinations. To aid in his effort, he enlisted a group of measurement specialists from across the United States, many of whom repeatedly faced the same problem. This group met about twice a year beginning in 1949 to consider progress, make revisions, and plan the next steps. Their final draft was published in 1956 under the title, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. Hereafter, this is referred to as the original Taxonomy. The revision of this framework, which is the subject of this issue of Theory Into Practice, was developed in much the same manner 45 years later . Hereafter, this is referred to as the revised Taxonomy. Bloom saw the original Taxonomy as more than a measurement tool. He believed it could serve as a common language about learning goals to facilitate communication across persons, subject matter, and grade levels; basis for determining for a particular course orcurriculum the specific meaning of broad educational goals, such as those found in the currently prevalent national, state, and local standards; means for determining the congruence of educational objectives, activities, and assessments in a unit, course, or curriculum; and panorama of the range of educational possibilities against which the limited breadth and depth of any particular educational course or curriculum could be contrasted.