Blooms Taxonomy and an English test

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analysing
Evaluating
Creating


Can be used to evaluate the Year 7 AIM2007 English test (to make sense you also need the Horizons resources)

Q1 understanding
Q2 understanding
Q3 analysing
Q4 analysing
q5 analysing
q6 understanding
Q7 remembering
Q8 remembering
Q9 understanding
Q10 understanding
Q11 evaluating
Q12 remembering
Q13 understanding
Q14 evaluating
Q15 evaluating
Q16 analysing
Q17 understanding
Q18 analysing
Q19 understanding
Q20 understanding
Q21 understanding
Q22 understanding
Q23 understanding
Q24 remembering
Q25 evaluating
Q26 evaluating
Q27 understanding
Q28 understanding
Q29 understanding
Q30 understanding
Q31 remembering
Q32 remembering
Q33 remembering
Q34 remembering
Q35 remembering
Q36 remembering
Q37 remembering
Q38 remembering
Q39 remembering
Q40 remembering
Q41 remembering
Q42 applying
Q43 applying
Q44 applying
Q45 evaluating
Q46 applying
Q47 applying
Q48 applying
Q49 applying
Q50 applying

My categorisation was a bit rough, done on the fly, but here are the results:
The 2 lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy are well represented, the upper levels are poorly represented and the highest level, creating, is not tested.

What does this say of a test which claims to monitor state wide achievement?

• the full suite of skills is not evaluated
• schools are not given any credit for teaching higher order skills
• students are given the message that higher order skills are not valued
• there are insufficient questions to reliably evaluate middle order skillls

Fortunately there is also a writing test, with examiner instructions which I have not evaluated.