In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Bloom found that over 95% of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level…the recall of information.

Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain from the simple recall or recognition of facts, at the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.
Levels of Cognition based on Bloom’s Taxonomy – Revised (2001) These levels are from “Levels of Cognition” (from Bloom’s Taxonomy – Revised, 2001). They are listed in order from the least complex to the most complex.

Remember: Recall or recognize terms, definitions, facts, ideas, materials, patterns, sequences, methods, principles, etc.
Understand: Read and understand descriptions, communications, reports, tables, diagrams, directions, regulations, etc.
Apply: Know when and how to use ideas, procedures, methods, formulas, principles, theories, etc.
Analyze: Break down information into its constituent parts and recognize their relationship to one another and how they are organized; identify sublevel factors or salient data from a complex scenario.
Evaluate: Make judgments about the value of proposed ideas, solutions, etc., by comparing the proposal to specific criteria or standards.
Create: Put parts or elements together in such a way as to reveal a pattern or structure not clearly there before; identify which data or information from a complex set is appropriate to examine further or from which supported conclusions can be drawn.