A levels-of-processing analysis of Bloom's taxonomy.

Tested the cumulative hierarchial assumption of B. S. Bloom's (1956) taxonomy by orienting 80 American and 52 Australian undergraduates at 4 taxonomic levels (Knowledge, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation) to the same study material and subsequently administering an unexpected memory test. With the exception of the Evaluation category, recall generally increased, as predicted, as taxonomic level increased. Bloom's taxonomy appears to possess some cross-national validity, at least for the 2 nationalities sampled, since the overall recall performance of the groups was quite similar. In general, moderate support was obtained for the cumulative hierarchical assumption, but it is concluded that the Evaluation category is misplaced as the apex level of the taxonomy. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)