THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE AND NOTE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE COGNITIVE OBJECTIVES OF EXAMINATIONS USED IN NINTH GRADE COURSES IN A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS FOR 1963-64 PREPARED BY INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS OR BY TEACHERS AS MEMBERS OF COMMITTEES WERE ANALYZED BY TEST ITEMS ACCORDING TO THE TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES--COGNITIVE DOMAIN (A HEIRARCHY OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY FROM KNOWLEDGE, TO COMPREHENSION, TO APPLICATION, TO ANALYSIS, TO SYNTHESIS, TO EVALUATION). ITEM FREQUENCIES WERE TABULATED AND PERCENTAGES CALCULATED. COURSES COVERED WERE CIVICS, COLLEGE PREPARATORY (CP) WORLD HISTORY, CP ALGEBRA, GENERAL MATHEMATICS, CP BIOLOGY, GENERAL SCIENCE, BEGINNING AND ADVANCED FRENCH, ENGLISH, HOME ECONOMICS, AND BUSINESS TRAINING. THOUGH THE RANGE OF COGNITIVE OBJECTIVES WIDENED FOR CP STUDENTS, EMPHASIS IN ALL 3 PROGRAMS OF STUDY (CP, BUSINESS, AND PREVOCATIONAL) WAS HEAVIEST ON KNOWLEDGE OF SPECIFICS. IN ALL PROGRAMS, AT LEAST HALF OF THE QUESTIONS REQUIRED ONLY MEMORY. THERE WAS OVERALL LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE AREAS OF ANALYSIS, SYNTHESIS, AND EVALUATION. ONLY IN ENGLISH AND, FOR A LIMITED GROUP, IN WORLD HISTORY, DID STUDENTS HAVE THE INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE OF THE HIGHER COGNITIVE PROCESSES. DISCREPANCIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ARE DISCUSSED. THIS ARTICLE WAS REPRINTED FROM THE BULLETIN OF THE NATIONAL ASSOC. OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, VOL. 49, SEPT. 1965. (AF)