Out of all the types of objectives, Bloom’s Taxonomy is perhaps the most recognized and familiar and it certainly has a significant influence on classroom material.  There are six major divisions; each uses a higher level of skill than the previous and they are: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  Students should be taught higher level thinking skills and not just the low level skills. In order to get a better view at how Bloom’s Taxonomy is being used in the classroom it was important to look at the evaluation procedure for which the students are being assessed.  I took a test from the Preparation for Parenting textbook to compare and contrast its level with Bloom’s Taxonomy.
     In order to do this evaluation it is necessary to first know what each level of the taxonomy means.  At the knowledge level the focus is on recall and recognition of material and it leaves a significant amount of room for memorization.  Comprehension takes the standard a little bit higher and makes the student restate the information and interpret the material.  The next level is application, which requires the student to solve problems.  Application is often used in math or science, but it is difficult to find in other courses.  Analysis is at the next level and this level breaks down the material into separate parts to determine an answer.  Synthesis is the opposite of analysis because at this level the student is attempting to put pieces together to create a new and unique answer or solution.  The last level is evaluation.  Evaluation is the highest level and most complex level of the taxonomy and it requires the student to make a judgment or determine the value of the information.  Each level of the taxonomy is important, but it is essential that teachers teach and test on higher levels of cognition.
     In Glencoe’s book, The Developing Child, I chose the Unit 3 test randomly.  This test consists of fifty questions comprised of twenty-five true-false questions, fifteen fill-in-the-blank questions, and ten multiple-choice questions.  After examining the entire test, I observed no signs of higher-level thinking skills required to take the test.  Students were predominately asked questions that only required the knowledge level of the taxonomy.  Memorization, recall, and recognition were all the skills necessary to take this test.  The test did not include any comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation.
     Teachers need to expect more out of their students and teach and test at higher cognitive levels of the Bloom’s Taxonomy.  It is disturbing to think that textbooks would include tests that do not text higher levels of achievement.  As educators I like to think about a rule that drives me and that is “You get what you expect!”  If I expect my students to think and excel in a subject then they will, but if I expect them to just be able to recognize the material when they see it, then they will do just that.
    Are we a people of the minimum?  Do we expect little from our students?  Should we teach critical thinking and higher thinking skills?  I say yes to all three questions.  Educators do teach the minimum and it is unfortunate because our students are able to recognize many things, but they never truly learn all that is open to them.  I dare to say that we do not expect a great deal out of our students.  Other countries teach a significant higher level of material at younger ages, but we insist that our students cannot handle the same material.  It is our own fault for not starting the students out early by challenging them to reach higher levels and this is something that can be changed, but it will not be easy.  Critical thinking and higher thinking skills should be taught without any doubt, but educators must first be trained to think at a different level than they were taught.  Not only is it possible to reach higher levels, but we should reach higher levels.  Now is the time to begin implementation and I plan to start.  How about you?

References

 Brisbane, H. E. (1988). The Developing Child. California: Glencoe.