Most quiz questions ask students to remember something. That has its place, since you cannot analyze what you do not know, but a quiz made only of recall questions never shows whether students can use what they learned. Bloom's taxonomy gives you a simple way to aim higher on purpose.
The original framework was published in 1956 by a team led by Benjamin Bloom. In 2001, Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl revised it and turned the levels into verbs: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create. The revised version is the one most schools use today, and it is the one below.
How to use the stems
A question stem is the opening of a question that points to a level of thinking. Pick the level you want, choose a stem, and finish it with your content. To show how the levels differ, every example below uses the same topic: the water cycle.
1. Remember
Recall facts, terms and basic concepts.
- What is…? Who…? When…?
- List the… / Name the…
- Which of these is the definition of…?
Example: What is the name of the process in which water vapor turns into liquid water?
2. Understand
Explain ideas in your own words.
- Explain why… / Describe how…
- What is the main idea of…?
- Give an example of…
Example: Explain why puddles disappear on a sunny day.
3. Apply
Use what you know in a new situation.
- How would you use… to…?
- What would happen if…?
- Solve… using…
Example: A cold glass of water is left on a table on a humid day. What will you see on the outside of the glass, and why?
4. Analyze
Break information into parts and find relationships.
- What is the relationship between… and…?
- Compare… and… / What is the difference between…?
- What evidence supports…?
Example: Compare evaporation and transpiration. How are they similar, and how are they different?
5. Evaluate
Judge, defend or critique using criteria.
- Do you agree that…? Why or why not?
- Which… is the best way to…, and why?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of…?
Example: A town plans to pave over a large wetland. Using the water cycle, judge whether this could change flooding downstream.
6. Create
Put ideas together into something new.
- Design a… / Propose a…
- How could you improve…?
- Write a… that shows…
Example: Design a simple experiment that shows how temperature affects the rate of evaporation.
Which question types fit which levels?
| Question type | Levels it handles well |
|---|---|
| True/false | Remember, understand |
| Fill in the blank | Remember, understand, apply |
| Multiple choice | Remember through evaluate, if the options are written well |
| Matching | Remember, understand, analyze |
| Open-ended | Understand through create |
Multiple choice can reach higher levels than people expect: present a short scenario and ask which explanation, prediction or decision is best. Our guide on writing multiple-choice questions covers how to build options that make students think.
Mixing levels in one quiz
A balanced ten-question quiz might have three remember or understand questions to warm up, four apply or analyze questions in the middle, and two or three evaluate or create questions at the end. Starting with recall builds confidence and checks the foundations; ending with higher levels shows who can go further.
If you want a head start, Quizbot's paid plans include question sets aligned to Bloom's taxonomy, and every plan can draft questions from your own material with the AI question generator. Either way, read the questions and adjust the levels to fit your class.
Common pitfalls
- Changing only the verb. Swapping "list" for "analyze" does not raise the level if the answer is still a memorized list. Check what students actually have to do to answer.
- Aiming high too soon. Students need solid recall before they can evaluate. A quiz made only of create-level questions on brand-new material frustrates more than it stretches.
- Leaving the criteria unclear. Evaluate and create questions need a short note on what a good answer includes, so students know what you are looking for.
Summary
- Choose the level first, then the stem, then the content.
- Keep some recall questions, but do not stop there.
- Match the question type to the level you want to reach.
