Evaluation and testing in nursing education - Springer Publishing

Evaluation, Measurement, and Education 15
allowed for teaching. If the time for teaching and evaluation is limited, the
objectives may need to be written at a lower level. The taxonomy provides a
continuum for educators to use in planning instruction and carrying out evaluation,
beginning with recall of facts and information and progressing toward
understanding, using concepts and theories in practice, analyzing situations,
synthesizing from different sources to develop new products, and evaluating
materials and situations based on internal and external criteria.
A description and sample objective for each of the six levels of learning
in the cognitive taxonomy follow. While sublevels have been established for
these levels, except for application, only the six major levels are essential to
guide the teacher for instructional and evaluation purposes.
1. Knowledge: Recall of facts and specific information. Memorization of
specifics.
The student defines the term systole.
2. Comprehension: Understanding. Ability to describe and explain the
material.
The learner describes the circulation through the heart.
3. Application: Use of information in a new situation. Ability to use
knowledge in a new situation.
The student applies concepts of aging in developing interventions for
the elderly.
4. Analysis: Ability to break down material into component parts and
identify the relationships among them.
The student analyzes the organizational structure of the community
health agency and its impact on client services.
5. Synthesis: Ability to develop a new product. Combining elements to
form a new product.
The student develops a plan for delivering services to elderly persons
who are home-bound.
6. Evaluation: Judgments about value based on internal and external
criteria. Extent to which materials and objects meet criteria.
The learner evaluates nursing research based on predetermined criteria.
This taxonomy is useful in developing test items because it helps the teacher
gear the item to a particular cognitive level. For example, if the objective focuses
on application, the test question should measure whether the student can use
the concept in a new situation, which is the intent of learning at that level.
However, the taxonomy alone does not always determine the level of complexity