When white sunlight passes through water, fog or a prism, the multi-colored spectrum of colors known as a rainbow is revealed.  Just as the colors in a rainbow form a distinct spectrum so also do the assessment tasks used in education.

When determining what students should know and be able to do, educators need to consider assessment tasks and the thinking skills involved.  Let’s explore why it is important to consider the levels of thinking skills identified in Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardner's Multiple Intelligences to uncover a broader spectrum of what students know.