Objectives-Based Assessments

Background of Objectives-Based Assessments

Objectives-based assessments have their roots in behaviorism, popular in the early- to mid-20th century, where observable and measurable behavior was considered to be the key to determining the amount and quality of learning. With this mind-set, Robert Mager outlined ways of preparing objectives to clearly define what was meant by learning in any particular area and to promote objective measurement of that learning—that is, objectives-based assessment. In the same time frame, a committee of educational psychologists developed Bloom’s taxonomy, a framework that categorizes educational objectives into progressively higher learning levels and was named after committee chairman Dr. Benjamin Bloom.

Although ideas about learning have changed, Bloom’s taxonomy, Mager’s work, and objectives-based assessments are still used in formal instructional systems design (ISD), particularly for training, where specific learning outcomes are important (e.g., multiplication tables, landing a plane). One reason for their continuing popularity stems directly from the objective and measurable evidence of learning that they provide, especially in adult training where certification and liability protection are issues. As a point of interest, this emphasis on objective and measurable behavior is also responsible for several limitations. One is the inability of objectives-based assessments to measure learning beyond the criteria used. A second is the difficulty of creating objectives for subjective learning specific to individuals (e.g., metacognitive knowledge or thinking about thinking). David Krathwohl begins to address this second limitation with his revision to Bloom’s taxonomy to include metacognitive knowledge as objective material.

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