AN ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES OF THIRTY-THREE MINICOURSES OF THE ISIS PROGRAM (INDIVIDUALIZED SCIENCE INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEM) AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT TESTS USING BLOOM'S COGNITIVE TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES. (VOLUMES I A

Statement of the Problem. The purpose of this study was to analyze and classify the ISIS minicourse performance objectives and criterion-referenced test items according to Bloom's cognitive Taxonomy in order to determine what levels of cognition the ISIS instructional materials are directed towards.;A panel of six judges was used to validate the classifications of this researcher and thereby determine his competency in the use of the Taxonomy for the classification of test items and behavioral objectives. The classification assignments made by the judges for the test items and performance objectives of a sample minicourse were then compared to the classification assignments of the test items and performance objectives made by this researcher. The overall agreement between the judging panel and this researcher was 78%.;Findings and Conclusions. ISIS minicourse test items and performance objectives are written primarily at the Knowledge and Comprehension levels. The ISIS instructional materials reflect low percentages of upper cognitive level test items and performance objectives.;The "core" sections of the ISIS minicourses and tests contain a greater percentage of Knowledge level test items and performance objectives than do "advanced" sections but a smaller percentage of Comprehension, Application, and Upper cognitive level test items and performance objectives than do the "advanced" sections.;Procedure or Methods. The performance objectives and test items of thirty-three ISIS minicourses and criterion-referenced tests were collected and classified according to Bloom's cognitive Taxonomy. Four research questions were posed in the study.;Life Science and Physical Science ISIS minicourses and tests are written primarily on the Knowledge and Comprehension levels. Physical Science ISIS materials contain a slightly higher percentage of Application and Upper level test items and performance objectives than do Life Science ISIS materials.;Based upon the use of a chi-square analysis, twenty-three of the ISIS minicourses and tests demonstrate a positive, correlational relationship between their performance objectives and criterion-referenced test items. The ISIS minicourses were found to demonstrate a negative relationship between their performance objectives and test items.;The data of this study provide concrete evidence that the ISIS instructional materials and tests meet the criteria and serve the needs for which they were developed, i.e. noncollege-bound students.