Bloom's Taxonomy and the Objectives of Education

Summary Bloom's taxonomy, which has been influential in underpinning many of the curriculum developments of the last fifteen years, may be criticized on various grounds. It is a mistake to suppose that Bloom's taxonomy, or any other proposed classification of objectives, can ever be wholly independent of questions of value. On the contrary, it appears that Bloom's taxonomy ‘suits’ the expression of a pragmatic/materialist ethic, and does not particularly suit the expression of ethics either traditionally, or currently, associated with the concept of ‘education’. In implementation Bloom's taxonomy‐‐it is argued‐‐is a disappointingly blunt instrument. This is particularly apparent when we try to use it in the analysis of mathematics in the upper school. In history the taxonomy seems to lead to conclusions which invert both commonsense and the judgement of experienced teachers. The major criticism of Bloom's taxonomy which is advanced in this paper∗ is, however, that the taxonomy omits a vital ingredient in ...