Benjamin Bloom

Benjamin Samuel Bloom (1913–1999) was an American educational psychologist and longtime professor at the University of Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in education from the University of Chicago, where he later became Charles H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor. His influential work included the classification of educational objectives, mastery learning, and research into the development of exceptional talent.

Bloom edited Developing Talent in Young People (1985), a study of how achievement develops across fields including music, mathematics, and athletics. He also authored or co-authored works including Stability and Change in Human Characteristics and Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, and helped establish the University of Chicago’s program in Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis.