CASAS Summer Conference
June, 2014
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One of 4 criteria of Webb’s alignment system – the Web Alignment Tool (2005)
 Related to Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives – Knowledge,
Understanding, Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, Evaluation (1956)
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Dr. Norman Webb (Univ. of Wisconsin), defines four DOK levels:
1. Recall, Reproduction, Recitation
2. Application of Skills / Concepts
3. Strategic Thinking
4. Extended Thinking
 Levels of cognitive processing, not difficulty
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LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS & CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and analysis of results
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• Bloom’s taxonomy level of difficulty is determined by the verb.
• DOK’s level of cognitive demand is determined by the context of how the verb is used and the depth of thinking required.
• What comes after the verb is more important that the verb itself.
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BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
KNOWLEDGE
“The recall of specifics and universals, involving little more than bringing to mind the appropriate material
”
COMPREHENSION
“Ability to process knowledge on a low level such that the knowledge can be reproduced or communicated without a verbatim repetition
.”
APPLICATION
“The use of abstractions in concrete situations.”
ANALYSIS
“The breakdown of a situation into its component parts.”
SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION
“Putting together elements & parts to form a whole, then making value judgments about the method.”
WEBB’S DOK
RECALL
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure (e.g.,
What are 3 critical skill cues for the overhand throw?)
SKILLS / CONCEPTS
Use of information, conceptual knowledge, procedures, two or more steps, etc.
STRATEGIC THINKING
Requires reasoning, developing a plan or sequence of steps; has some complexity; more than one possible answer
EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation; time to think and process multiple conditions of the problem or task.

Level Four (
Extended Thinking
) -
Analyze the strategies and effectiveness of George H. W.
Bush’s war strategies in the Persian Gulf with the war strategies of George W. Bush in Iraq.
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Level Three ( Strategic Thinking ) –
Hypothesize how President Dwight D.
Eisenhower would react to today’s political situation in the Middle
East .
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Level Two ( Skill/Concept ) – Use the right and left political spectrum to categorize the U.S. presidents of the 20 th and 21 st century according to to their political standing
.
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Level One ( Recall ) –
Name the first 16 presidents of the
United States in order.
Who was President of the
United States during the
War between the States?
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:
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is
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DOK is not a verb.
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DOK is not about the “difficulty” of the task.
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DOK is not a grade-level indicator.
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
Why are DOKs important to your work?
The thinking required for each performance task must correspond to the cognitive complexity levels of the underlying content standard. Tasks and content standards should reflect about the same levels of thinking.
 The new College and Career Readiness
Standards and the Common Core State
Standards in language arts and mathematics reflect higher-order thinking.
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 Right-there questions
 Recall information
 Identification/recitation of simple facts
 Use simple skills/abilities
 Follow a well-known procedure
 Perform a routine algorithm
 Apply a simple formula
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Describe physical features of an area.
Locate points on a grid or number on a number line.
Solve a one-step problem.
Calculate, measure, apply a rule.
Identify elements of a painting using artistic terminology.
Retrieve information from a table to answer a question.
Define terms (e.g., forms of government, geographical features).
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 Final Jeopardy is always a DOK 1!!!
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 Some mental processing beyond a habitual
response and/or
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Actions require more than one cognitive step.
Inter-sentence, think-&-search questions
Observe/collect data
Classify/organize/compare data
Display data in tables, graphs, charts
Summarize & infer from information
 Determine fact/opinion
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Demonstrate understanding & use of reference materials.
Take notes, outline, summarize.
Identify central ideas/supporting details in text.
Explain how nutritional choices affect our health.
Compare sources of information about a product.
Explain the cause-effect of historical events.
Describe various styles of music.
Make inferences or logical predictions from data.
Retrieve information from a table, & use it to solve a multi-step problem.
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Deep understanding, reasoning, planning, using evidence
Complex, abstract cognitive demands
Explanations, generalizations, beyond-text questions
Draw & justify conclusions from observations
Make inferences across entire passage
Make connections between texts
Develop logical arguments
Compositions of multiple paragraphs demonstrating focus, development, voice, complex sentence structure, etc.
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DOK 3
Strategic Thinking
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Design investigation for specific purpose or research question.
Compare multiple sources of consumer information about a product, and recommend a purchase.
Compare/contrast/analyze procedures or solutions.
Formulate an original problem given a situation.
Analyze interrelationships among concepts, issues, problems.
Interpret author’s craft to critique a text.
Create a monthly budget & analyze results to explain ways to reduce household expenses .
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Complexity of cognitive demand often requires extended time & research
Synthesis & application to real world
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Relate ideas within & among subject areas
Design/conduct/critique experimental designs & investigations
Prepare essays & research papers to demonstrate analysis & synthesis of complex perspectives with fresh applications to life
 Addressed in a CLASSROOM situation only!
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 Specify a problem, identify solution paths, solve problem, & report results.
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Write & produce an original play.
Analyze multiple perspectives within & across time periods, events, or cultures.
Describe contributions from diverse cultures to life in the U.S.
Identify & analyze representative art works from different periods & cultures.
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Albert Einstein
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The Depth of Knowledge is NOT determined by the verb, but the context in which the verb is used and the depth of thinking required.
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 DOK 3- Describe a model that you might use to represent the relationships that exist within the rock cycle. (requires deep understanding of rock cycle and a determination of how best to represent it)
 DOK 2- Describe the difference between metamorphic and igneous rocks. (requires cognitive processing to determine the differences in the two rock types)
 DOK 1- Describe three characteristics of metamorphic rocks. (simple recall)
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• Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a scale of
cognitive demand. It is not about difficulty level.
• DOK levels can be cumulative. An assessment item/task written to DOK 3 often contains DOK 1
& DOK 2 level “sub-demands.”
• DOK requires looking at the Competency/PI & the assessment item/task – not student work – in order to determine the level. DOK is NOT about the student.
• The context of the standard or test item must be considered to determine the DOK – not just looking at what verb was chosen.
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“ Alignment’ of Content Standards with
Assessment Exercises
When (making or) inspecting the alignment between a set of content standards and an item on an assessment, it is important that the DOK level of the standard corresponds with that of the item.
• Otherwise, think about the inferences you will draw
From a student’s performance on the ite m.
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32.3
Indicator
Describe methods for reducing home hazards that cause: a) falls b) fires c) electrical accidents d) gas leaks e) poisoning
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32.3
Item
“…, identify three areas that need improvement in making your home safer by marking the
“Hazards” column in the Home Safety Chart.”
“…identify and describe what you will do you to reduce these three hazards in your home.”
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36.3
Indicator
Use the USDA Food Pyramid to interpret nutrition information based on a one-day eating plan of 2,000 calories that includes one fast food meal, and one home-cooked meal.
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36.3
Item
“… fill in the blanks in the following sentences with information found on the My Pyramid website.”
“Three examples of foods in the grain group in the food pyramid are _______, _______, and
______.”
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“Practice Test” – Assigning DOKs
 Try assigning a DOK to these 7 possible classroom activities:
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1. Paraphrase Chapter 4 of this book.
2. Write a letter to the editor concerning your view on . . .
3. Use your knowledge of different types of graphs to make and label the results of a poll of your classmates concerning their favorite sport.
4. Make a timeline of the key events of the U.S. involvement in
World War II
5.
Think up a new snack food and write an advertisement jingle to promote the product.
6.
Develop a menu for a new restaurant using a variety of healthy foods.
7. Identify three literary devices used in this short story and give an example of each.
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LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS & CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and analysis of results
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 Assign a DOK level to each of the following
Grades 7-8 mathematics items.
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1.
After three games, Stella’s bowling average (mean) was 105.
Her first to scores were 112 and 96. What was her third score?
2.
Elizabeth dropped a ball from 50 feet off the ground. Each time the ball bounced, it rebounded one-half the distance it dropped. What was the height of rebound after the third bounce?
3.
The equation 2x + 3y + 7 = 35 represents the total number of points that Frank scored in last night’s game. In this equation,
x represents the number of two-point shots he made, and y equals the number of three-point baskets he made. If he made 8 two-point shots, how many three-point baskets did he make?
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LEVEL ONE – RECALL & REPRODUCTION
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure
LEVEL TWO – SKILLS / CONCEPTS
Use information or conceptual knowledge
LEVEL THREE – STRATEGIC THINKING
Reasoning, developing a plan
LEVEL FOUR – EXTENDED THINKING
Requires an investigation, collection of data and analysis of results
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“ Webb’s Depth of Knowledge: Transitioning to the 2014 GED Test ” – GED Testing Service webinar transcript and Powerpoint slides,
2013. Available on GED website.
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Contact:
Michael Beck
35 Guion Street
Pleasantville, NY 10570
914 – 769- 5235 mikebeck@prodigy.net
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