Preferences of Science Teachers for Multiple-Choice Achievement Test Items at Different Levels in Bloom'S Taxonomy in Relation to their Cognitive Learning Styles

For a sample of 22 biology teachers and one of 22 physics teachers in private sectarian high schools, data were obtained concerning (a) their preferences for multiple-choice achievement test items classified as belonging to one of six hierarchical levels of cognitive objectives within Bloom's taxonomy and (b) the cognitive learning style with which they were identified most closely from scores on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Although both teacher groups found items at the lower four levels of Bloom's taxonomy to be acceptable, physics teachers were more likely than biology teachers to express reservations about using items at the two highest cognitive levels of Synthesis and Evaluation. Both teacher samples showed a strong identification with the typology of Introversion rather than Extraversion, Thinking rather than Feeling, Judging rather than Perceiving, with an even split between Sensing and Intuition. Item level preference was virtually unrelated to cognitive learning style identification.