Bloom's Taxonomy originally included six levels and was later updated to reflect 21st-century skills. Which statement best describes this evolution?

• A. Developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom; the original levels were knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, and it was later updated to remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
• B. It was created in 1960 and has five levels that have remained unchanged.
• C. It is a framework only used for gifted education.
• D. The revised version removed synthesis and replaced it with evaluation.

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how Bloom’s taxonomy shifted from its original form to a revised version that fits modern thinking about thinking. The best statement correctly states that Bloom’s taxonomy was developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, with the original six levels named knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. It also correctly notes that the taxonomy was updated to reflect newer understandings of cognition, changing the level names to remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. This revision, around the turn of the century, preserves the progression from basic recall to higher-order thinking while updating the terminology and emphasizing creativity at the top with creating.

This matters because it shows both the historical structure and the modern emphasis on higher-order skills. The other options either misstate the number of levels, the year, or the purpose of the framework, or claim changes that aren’t accurate (for example, that synthesis was removed rather than renamed to creating, or that the taxonomy is only for gifted education).