A Profile of the Validity of Postgraduate Psychology Examinations in Pakistan in Terms of Their Congruence With Educational Objectives

Abstract

Within the framework provided by the six process-oriented cognitive categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives by Bloom and his co-workers the essay-type items of postgraduate achievement examinations in psychology for students at the University of Peshawar were classified, and the relative frequencies of the items were compared with those for psychology examinations administered at a British university. Although the categories of Knowledge and Comprehension were amply represented, the dimensions of Analysis and Synthesis would appear to have been very much underrepresented at the University of Peshawar. Thus possible sources of invalidity in the achievement examinations were identified if the behaviors of the examinees both as students and as future psychologists demand abilities of Analysis and Synthesis in research endeavors, in report writing, and in oral communication as required in teaching or public service.