This practice test contains 60 original multiple-choice questions on Bloom’s original taxonomy of 1956: why it was created, the three learning domains, and the original six cognitive levels in order. Each question has one correct answer. Click Show Answer to check your answer and read a short explanation.
Why the Taxonomy Was Created
Q1. In which year was Bloom’s original Taxonomy of Educational Objectives first published?
- (A) 1948
- (B) 1956
- (C) 1962
- (D) 1975
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Answer: B – Bloom and his collaborators published the cognitive domain handbook in 1956 after several years of committee work.
Q2. Who is generally credited as the editor and lead author of the original taxonomy handbook?
- (A) Robert Gagne
- (B) Lev Vygotsky
- (C) Benjamin S. Bloom
- (D) Jerome Bruner
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Answer: C – Benjamin Bloom chaired the committee of college examiners and edited the 1956 handbook on the cognitive domain.
Q3. The original taxonomy was mainly developed by a group of people working in which role?
- (A) School inspectors
- (B) College examiners
- (C) Textbook publishers
- (D) Curriculum sales agents
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Answer: B – The committee was made up of examiners who wanted a shared language for describing examination questions and objectives.
Q4. What was the main practical problem that led to the creation of Bloom’s taxonomy?
- (A) Teachers in colleges refused to set any examinations at all because they doubted whether testing could measure learning fairly
- (B) Schools had no textbooks for science subjects
- (C) Examiners lacked a common language for classifying educational objectives and test items
- (D) Students could not read examination papers
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Answer: C – Examiners found that the same objective was described in different ways, so a shared classification was needed.
Q5. The full title of the 1956 handbook referred to which domain?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The affective domain
- (C) The psychomotor domain
- (D) The social domain
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Answer: A – The 1956 volume covered the cognitive domain; the affective domain handbook followed later in 1964.
Q6. Which of the following best describes what a taxonomy is in education?
- (A) A list of compulsory topics for one grade, arranged term by term for teachers to follow in class
- (B) A method of marking answer scripts
- (C) A timetable for school examinations
- (D) A classification system that arranges objectives from simple to complex
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Answer: D – A taxonomy classifies objectives into ordered categories so that teachers can plan, teach and assess in a balanced way.
Q7. The original taxonomy was intended to help teachers do all of the following EXCEPT:
- (A) Write clearer learning objectives
- (B) Plan lessons at different levels of thinking
- (C) Check whether tests cover more than recall
- (D) Replace all classroom teaching with written tests
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Answer: D – The taxonomy was a planning and assessment aid, not a replacement for teaching itself.
Q8. Why did Bloom’s committee begin its work in the late 1940s?
- (A) To abolish university entrance examinations
- (B) To introduce multiple-choice tests in primary schools
- (C) To standardise school uniforms across states
- (D) To improve communication among examiners about what tests measured
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Answer: D – The work began at an examiners’ meeting where members realised they needed common terms for test purposes.
Q9. The original taxonomy classified educational objectives mainly according to:
- (A) The age of the learner only, without reference to the subject matter or the kind of learning intended
- (B) The kind of behaviour or learning the objective required
- (C) The subject being taught only
- (D) The length of the lesson
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Answer: B – Objectives were grouped by the type of learning behaviour expected, such as recalling, explaining or judging.
Q10. Which statement best captures the purpose of classifying objectives?
- (A) It guarantees that every student will pass the examination regardless of effort, preparation or prior knowledge
- (B) It removes the need for lesson planning
- (C) It makes all subjects equally difficult
- (D) It helps teachers match teaching and testing to the intended level of learning
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Answer: D – Classification helps a teacher see whether teaching and assessment actually demand the level stated in the objective.
Q11. Bloom’s original work is best described as a taxonomy of:
- (A) Educational objectives
- (B) Teaching methods
- (C) School buildings
- (D) Student personalities
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Answer: A – The taxonomy organised statements of intended learning outcomes, not methods or buildings.
Q12. Which of the following was a key influence on the original taxonomy’s design?
- (A) The invention of the computer and its later use for scoring large numbers of examination papers
- (B) The need to classify examination questions by the thinking they demanded
- (C) The growth of distance learning by radio
- (D) The introduction of school lunch programmes
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Answer: B – Examiners wanted to know whether a question tested memory, understanding, application or higher thinking.
Q13. The original taxonomy was published as a handbook for people concerned with:
- (A) School sports coaching
- (B) Library management
- (C) School transport
- (D) Educational objectives and assessment
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Answer: D – The handbook addressed teachers and examiners who wrote objectives and tests.
Q14. In the original taxonomy, the levels were presented as:
- (A) A random list with no order at all
- (B) A hierarchy from simpler to more complex cognitive processes
- (C) A circle with no starting point
- (D) A set of unrelated skills of equal difficulty
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Answer: B – The levels were arranged in a cumulative hierarchy, with each higher level assumed to draw on the lower ones.
Q15. Which idea is central to the original taxonomy’s view of learning?
- (A) Memorisation is the only real learning
- (B) Thinking skills cannot be taught at all
- (C) Higher levels of thinking build on lower levels
- (D) All objectives are equally complex
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Answer: C – The hierarchy assumed that analysis, synthesis and evaluation rest on knowledge and comprehension.
The Three Learning Domains
Q16. Which domain of learning deals mainly with knowledge, thinking and intellectual skills?
- (A) The affective domain
- (B) The cognitive domain
- (C) The psychomotor domain
- (D) The behavioural domain
Show Answer
Answer: B – The cognitive domain covers mental processes such as remembering, understanding and reasoning.
Q17. Which domain deals mainly with attitudes, feelings, values and interests?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The psychomotor domain
- (C) The physical domain
- (D) The affective domain
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Answer: D – The affective domain concerns how learners feel about, value and respond to what they learn.
Q18. Which domain deals mainly with physical movement, coordination and motor skills?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The psychomotor domain
- (C) The affective domain
- (D) The moral domain
Show Answer
Answer: B – The psychomotor domain covers skilled physical performance, from simple movements to complex coordinated action.
Q19. A student who develops respect for honest reporting of results is showing learning mainly in which domain?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The affective domain
- (C) The psychomotor domain
- (D) The linguistic domain
Show Answer
Answer: B – Valuing honesty is an attitude and value, which places it in the affective domain.
Q20. A student who learns to use a microscope steadily and accurately is showing learning mainly in which domain?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The affective domain
- (C) The verbal domain
- (D) The psychomotor domain
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Answer: D – Handling apparatus with coordination and precision is motor learning, so it belongs to the psychomotor domain.
Q21. A student who can explain why seasons change is showing learning mainly in which domain?
- (A) The affective domain
- (B) The cognitive domain
- (C) The psychomotor domain
- (D) The social domain
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Answer: B – Explaining a concept is an intellectual task, so it belongs to the cognitive domain.
Q22. Which of the following is an example of an affective objective?
- (A) Learners will state the formula for speed correctly and recall the units used for distance and time
- (B) Learners will show willingness to listen to opposing views in a debate
- (C) Learners will draw a labelled diagram of the heart
- (D) Learners will measure length with a ruler
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Answer: B – Willingness to listen reflects an attitude and value, which is the mark of the affective domain.
Q23. Which of the following is an example of a psychomotor objective?
- (A) Learners will define the term photosynthesis
- (B) Learners will compare two political systems
- (C) Learners will perform a dance sequence with correct timing and balance
- (D) Learners will appreciate a poem
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Answer: C – Performing a sequence with timing and balance is skilled physical performance.
Q24. How many domains did Bloom’s original framework recognise in total?
- (A) Three
- (B) Two
- (C) Four
- (D) Six
Show Answer
Answer: A – The framework recognised the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.
Q25. Which domain received the most detailed treatment in the 1956 handbook?
- (A) The affective domain
- (B) The cognitive domain
- (C) The psychomotor domain
- (D) All three equally in that volume
Show Answer
Answer: B – The 1956 handbook dealt with the cognitive domain; the affective handbook appeared later.
Q26. Which pair correctly matches a domain with its focus?
- (A) Cognitive: physical coordination
- (B) Psychomotor: attitudes and interests
- (C) Affective: feelings and values
- (D) Affective: memorising facts
Show Answer
Answer: C – The affective domain is about feelings, values and attitudes, while the cognitive domain is about thinking.
Q27. A lesson objective that asks learners to cooperate fairly in group work belongs mainly to which domain?
- (A) The cognitive domain
- (B) The psychomotor domain
- (C) The affective domain
- (D) The testing domain
Show Answer
Answer: C – Cooperating fairly reflects attitudes and social values, so it is primarily affective.
Q28. A teacher who wants learners to both know a safety rule and handle equipment safely is addressing which domains?
- (A) Cognitive and psychomotor
- (B) Affective only
- (C) Cognitive only
- (D) Psychomotor only
Show Answer
Answer: A – Knowing the rule is cognitive, while handling equipment safely is psychomotor.
Q29. Which statement about the three domains is most accurate?
- (A) Each lesson can belong to only one domain
- (B) The affective domain is irrelevant to school learning
- (C) The psychomotor domain applies only to sports
- (D) Real classroom learning in most subjects involves more than one domain at once, even when one domain is emphasised
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Answer: D – A single activity, such as a science experiment, can involve thinking, attitudes and motor skill together.
Q30. In the original taxonomy, Synthesis was best described as:
- (A) Recalling facts and terms exactly as learned
- (B) Explaining material in one’s own words
- (C) Putting parts together to form a new whole, such as a plan or a composition
- (D) Judging material against stated criteria
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Answer: C – Synthesis meant combining parts into a new whole, and it stood above Analysis and below Evaluation in the original order.
The Original Six Cognitive Levels
Q31. In the original taxonomy, the second cognitive level was called:
- (A) Comprehension
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Analysis
- (D) Synthesis
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Answer: A – Comprehension followed Knowledge and meant understanding material well enough to explain or interpret it.
Q32. In the original taxonomy, the third cognitive level was called:
- (A) Application
- (B) Comprehension
- (C) Evaluation
- (D) Synthesis
Show Answer
Answer: A – Application meant using learned material in new and concrete situations.
Q33. In the original taxonomy, the fourth cognitive level was called:
- (A) Analysis
- (B) Application
- (C) Evaluation
- (D) Knowledge
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Answer: A – Analysis meant breaking material into parts and seeing how the parts relate.
Q34. In the original taxonomy, the fifth cognitive level was called:
- (A) Synthesis
- (B) Evaluation
- (C) Analysis
- (D) Application
Show Answer
Answer: A – Synthesis meant putting parts together to form a new whole, such as a plan or a composition.
Q35. In the original taxonomy, the highest cognitive level was called:
- (A) Evaluation
- (B) Synthesis
- (C) Analysis
- (D) Comprehension
Show Answer
Answer: A – Evaluation, the making of judgements based on criteria, stood at the top of the original hierarchy.
Q36. Which order correctly lists the original six cognitive levels from lowest to highest?
- (A) Comprehension, Knowledge, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis
- (B) Knowledge, Application, Comprehension, Synthesis, Analysis, Evaluation
- (C) Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation
- (D) Knowledge, Comprehension, Analysis, Application, Evaluation, Synthesis
Show Answer
Answer: C – The original order was Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation.
Q37. A question that asks learners to recall the capital of a country is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Analysis
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Synthesis
- (D) Evaluation
Show Answer
Answer: B – Simple recall of a fact is Knowledge, the lowest original level.
Q38. A question that asks learners to explain a passage in their own words is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Comprehension
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Synthesis
- (D) Evaluation
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Answer: A – Restating meaning in one’s own words shows understanding, which is Comprehension.
Q39. A question that asks learners to use a formula to solve a new problem is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Knowledge
- (B) Comprehension
- (C) Application
- (D) Evaluation
Show Answer
Answer: C – Using a learned rule in a fresh situation is Application.
Q40. A question that asks learners to identify the causes behind an event is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Analysis
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Comprehension
- (D) Application
Show Answer
Answer: A – Breaking an event into causes and relationships is Analysis.
Q41. A question that asks learners to write an original story using a given theme is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Synthesis
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Comprehension
- (D) Application
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Answer: A – Creating a new whole from elements is Synthesis in the original taxonomy.
Q42. A question that asks learners to judge which of two plans is better and give reasons is mainly at which original level?
- (A) Knowledge
- (B) Evaluation
- (C) Application
- (D) Analysis
Show Answer
Answer: B – Making a reasoned judgement against criteria is Evaluation.
Q43. Which original level is most closely linked to the verb ‘define’?
- (A) Analysis
- (B) Synthesis
- (C) Evaluation
- (D) Knowledge
Show Answer
Answer: D – Defining a term mainly requires recall, so it belongs to Knowledge.
Q44. Which original level is most closely linked to the verb ‘summarise’?
- (A) Comprehension
- (B) Knowledge
- (C) Synthesis
- (D) Evaluation
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Answer: A – Summarising requires grasping meaning and restating it briefly, which is Comprehension.
Q45. Which original level is most closely linked to the verb ‘demonstrate’ in a new situation?
- (A) Knowledge
- (B) Comprehension
- (C) Evaluation
- (D) Application
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Answer: D – Demonstrating a skill or rule in a new context is Application.
Order, Hierarchy and Classroom Use
Q46. In the original hierarchy, a learner is assumed to need Knowledge before reaching:
- (A) Evaluation only, but not other levels
- (B) Synthesis only, but not other levels
- (C) Comprehension
- (D) No other level at all
Show Answer
Answer: C – The hierarchy was cumulative, so understanding was assumed to rest on recall of the material.
Q47. Why is Evaluation placed above Synthesis in the original taxonomy?
- (A) Because evaluation questions are always shorter and therefore easier for examiners to mark quickly
- (B) Because synthesis was considered a form of recall
- (C) Because judging a creation was seen as requiring criteria and weighing evidence, beyond producing it
- (D) Because evaluation was the first level taught in schools
Show Answer
Answer: C – The original authors placed judgement at the top because it draws on the other levels and adds criteria-based appraisal.
Q48. A test made up only of Knowledge questions would be criticised for:
- (A) Being too long for students to finish
- (B) Using too many diagrams
- (C) Sampling only the lowest level of thinking
- (D) Covering too many subjects at once
Show Answer
Answer: C – A recall-only test gives no evidence about understanding, application or higher thinking.
Q49. Which classroom practice best reflects the original taxonomy’s intent?
- (A) Setting only recall questions for every test, even when the syllabus aims at understanding and judgement
- (B) Teaching facts without ever asking for explanations
- (C) Avoiding judgement questions in all subjects
- (D) Writing objectives and questions across several levels, not recall alone
Show Answer
Answer: D – The taxonomy was meant to broaden objectives and assessment beyond memorisation.
Q50. A teacher says, ‘Learners will recall, explain, use, break down, combine and judge material.’ This sequence follows:
- (A) The original six levels in order
- (B) The revised levels in reverse order
- (C) The three domains in order
- (D) A random list of verbs
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Answer: A – Recall, explain, use, break down, combine and judge match Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation.
Q51. Which of the following objectives is at a HIGHER original level than Application?
- (A) Learners will analyse the arguments in an editorial
- (B) Learners will apply the rule to a new example
- (C) Learners will state the rule from memory
- (D) Learners will explain the rule in their own words
Show Answer
Answer: A – Analysis sits above Application in the original hierarchy, while stating and explaining sit below it.
Q52. Which of the following objectives is at a LOWER original level than Analysis?
- (A) Learners will synthesise a new proposal
- (B) Learners will evaluate a policy
- (C) Learners will comprehend a short passage
- (D) Learners will create a new model
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Answer: C – Comprehension is below Analysis, while synthesis and evaluation are above it.
Q53. If a teacher moves a lesson from recall questions to questions that ask learners to judge solutions, the teacher is moving:
- (A) From Evaluation towards Knowledge
- (B) From the psychomotor to the affective domain
- (C) From Knowledge towards Evaluation
- (D) From teaching to administration
Show Answer
Answer: C – Judging solutions is Evaluation, the top of the original hierarchy, while recall is its base.
Q54. The original taxonomy’s hierarchy is best described as cumulative because:
- (A) Each level is taught in a different school year, with no connection between the skills learned in successive years
- (B) Lower levels are forgotten once higher levels are reached
- (C) Higher levels replace lower levels completely
- (D) Each higher level is assumed to include the skills of the lower levels
Show Answer
Answer: D – Cumulative means that higher performance draws on, rather than discards, the lower-level skills.
Q55. Which statement about the original taxonomy is FALSE?
- (A) It was designed to classify educational objectives for teachers and examiners in schools and colleges
- (B) It claimed that every student must master Evaluation before learning any facts
- (C) It arranged cognitive levels from simple to complex
- (D) It was later revised in 2001
Show Answer
Answer: B – The hierarchy builds upward from facts; it never required evaluation before basic knowledge.
Q56. A school that checks its examination papers against the six original levels is mainly checking:
- (A) The handwriting of the students
- (B) The number of pages in each paper
- (C) The cost of printing the papers
- (D) The balance of thinking levels sampled by the papers
Show Answer
Answer: D – Matching items to levels shows whether papers test recall only or a range of thinking.
Q57. Which of the following best explains why the original taxonomy is still taught to teacher trainees?
- (A) It is a law that every country must follow in exactly the same form, with no local adaptation allowed
- (B) It replaces all subject syllabuses
- (C) It guarantees higher examination scores
- (D) It gives a simple shared language for objectives, teaching and assessment
Show Answer
Answer: D – Its lasting value is as a practical framework for planning and checking the level of learning demanded.
Q58. A trainee teacher who can list the six original levels in order but cannot classify a new question has shown:
- (A) Evaluation of the taxonomy
- (B) Synthesis of a new taxonomy
- (C) Knowledge of the taxonomy without application of it
- (D) Psychomotor mastery of the taxonomy
Show Answer
Answer: C – Listing the levels is recall, while classifying a new item requires using the framework in a fresh case.
Q59. A teacher who writes objectives only at Knowledge and Comprehension levels is likely to produce tests that mainly reward:
- (A) Original research and invention
- (B) Skilled physical performance
- (C) Attitude change in learners
- (D) Memorisation and basic understanding
Show Answer
Answer: D – Objectives at the two lowest levels lead to tests that reward recall and simple understanding rather than higher thinking.
Q60. Which original level would a question about designing a new experiment to test a hypothesis belong to?
- (A) Knowledge
- (B) Synthesis
- (C) Comprehension
- (D) Application
Show Answer
Answer: B – Designing a new experiment creates a new plan or product, which is Synthesis in the original taxonomy.
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