Depth of
Knowledge
and Rigor:
Improving
Instruction and
Assessment
What is DoK?
Depth of Knowledge (DoK), a
model developed by Norman
Webb in 1997, reflects a different
level of cognitive expectation
required to complete a task.
Webb called the DoK
nominative, meaning it
names ways of
going into the content.
Characteristics of Webb’s DoK Model
 Defines
levels to align and analyze
curriculum, objectives, standards, and
assessments
 Names four different ways that students
interact with content
 Relates closely to the depth of content
understanding and scope of a learning
activity—focuses on skills required to
complete the task from inception to
finale (e.g., planning, researching,
drawing conclusions).
Repo
DoK and the Rigor/Relevance Framework
Levels of complexity of cognitive demand:
 Level 1: Quad A Recall and Reproduction
Requires eliciting information such as a fact, definition, term,
or a simple procedure, as well as performing a simple
algorithm or applying a formula.
 Level 2: Quad B Basic Skills and Concepts
Requires the engagement of some mental processing beyond
a recall of information.
 Level 3: Quad C Strategic Thinking and Reasoning
Requires reasoning, planning, using evidence, and
explanations of thinking
 Level 4: Quad D Extended Thinking
Requires complex reasoning, planning, developing, and
thinking most likely over an extended period of time
You’re not going to
live in Quad D, but you
need to visit it on a
regular basis!
DoK 1/Quad A: Recall and Reproduction
 DoK
1 involves basic recall of concepts,
definitions, facts, and processes.
 A Level 1 item can involve following a
simple, well-known procedure or formula.
 Simple skills and abilities or recall
characterize DOK 1.
DoK 1/Quad A Examples
 Locate
or recall facts.
 Apply a well-known formula.
 Identify the complete subject and
complete predicate in a sentence.
 Represent math relationships in words,
pictures, or symbols.
 Perform a simple science process or a set
of procedures.
DoK 2/Quad B: Basic Application
of Skills & Concepts
 Engages
mental processes beyond
recalling or reproducing a response
 Requires students to makes decisions
about how to approach a question or
problem
 Implies more than ONE cognitive
process/step
DoK 2/Quad B Examples
 Identify
& summarize the major events,
problem, solution, conflicts in literary text.
 Predict a logical outcome based on
information in a reading selection.
 Explain causes/effects of historical events.
 Retrieve information from a table, graph,
or figure and use it to solve a problem
requiring multiple steps.
DoK 3/Quad C: Strategic Thinking
•
•
•
Requires deep understanding as exhibited
through planning, using evidence, and
more demanding cognitive reasoning
Taps complex and abstract cognitive
demands
Assessment items have more than one
possible answer and require students to
justify their response
DoK 3/Quad C Examples
Justify a response when more than one
answer is possible.
 Compare consumer actions & analyze how
these actions impact the environment.
 Analyze or evaluate the choice and
effectiveness of figurative language.
 Solve a multiple-step problem and provide
support with a mathematical explanation
that justifies the answer.

DoK 4/Quad D: Extended Thinking
 Requires
high cognitive demand
 Requires time to research, think, or
process multiple facets of a problem
 Due to the complexity of the task, often
requires an extended period of time
 Necessitates real-world, unpredictable
applications of knowledge
DoK 4/Quad D Examples
 Gather,
analyze, organize, & synthesize
information from multiple sources to draft
a well-organized essay.
 Analyze & explain multiple perspectives or
issues within or across time periods,
events, or cultures.
 Specify a problem, identify solution paths,
solve the problem, and report the results.
Why emphasize DoK?
Ensures that the intent
of the standard and
the level of students’
tasks required matches
the assessment
Ensures that teachers are teaching
to a level that promotes student
achievement
DoK Level?
The total cost for an order of shirts from a company consists of the cost for
Grade 8
each shirt plus a one-time design fee. The cost for each shirt is the same
no matter how many shirts are ordered.
The company provides the following examples to customers to help them
estimate the total cost for an order of shirts.
• 50 shirts cost $349.50
• 500 shirts cost $2370
Part A: Using the examples provided, what is the cost for each shirt, not
including the one-time design fee? Explain how you found your answer.
Part B: What is the cost of the one-time design fee? Explain how you found
your answer.
What Level DoK?
Select
all of the 8
expressions that have a value between 0 and 1.
Grade
87  8–12
74
7–3
1
2
3
(–5)6
(–5)10

1
3
9
DoK Level?
A cylindrical
Grade 8tank has a height of 10 feet and
a radius of 4 feet. Jane fills this tank with water
at a rate of 8 cubic feet per minute. How many
minutes will it take Jane to completely fill the
tank without overflowing at this rate?
Round your answer to the nearest minute.
DoK Level?
Grade 8
During the task, the student assumes the role of an
architect who is responsible for designing the best plan
for a park with area and financial restraints. The student
completes tasks in which he/she compares the costs of
different bids, determines what facilities should be given
priority in the park, and then develops a scale drawing of
the best design for the park and an explanation of the
choices made. This investigation is done in class using a
calculator, an applet to construct the scale drawing, and a
spreadsheet.
Bloom’s and Webb’s
Bloom's Taxonomy focuses on the tasks that
students complete to deepen student
understanding. However, Webb's DoK centers
on the thinking process, not just the
product. Webb’s Depth of Knowledge is about
the cognitive demands (thinking process) of
instruction, tasks, and/or assessments. While
Bloom's Taxonomy relies on the verb, Webb's
DoK extends beyond the verb to what follows--beyond the 'what' to the 'how'.
Karin Hess Video
 http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/Com
monCoreLibrary/Videos/default.htm#
A verb alone can vary in terms
of difficulty & complexity.
 “Create,”
for example, is a high level on
Bloom’s taxonomy.
 If you ask students to “create a model of
the human eye based on a textbook
model,” students may not need
additional background knowledge to
complete the task. There is little transfer of
knowledge.
But. . .
If you ask students to create a threedimensional model of one hole for a
miniature golf course utilizing a
parallelogram, a rectangle, a circle, a
triangle, and a rhombus, they must use
critical thinking skills.
Look what our HS geometry
students designed last year!
DoK Verb Activity: #1
Describe a model that you might use to
represent the relationships that exist within
the rock cycle.
(requires deep understanding of the rock
cycle and a determination of how best to
represent it)
What level is this task and why?
DoK Activity #2
Describe the difference between
metamorphic and igneous rocks.
(requires cognitive processing to determine
the differences in the two rock types)
What level is this and why?
DoK Activity #3
Describe three characteristics of
metamorphic rocks
(requires simple recall)
What level is this task and why?
It’s about more than the verb!
“Just because we ask students to
create or analyze doesn’t necessarily
mean that we are providing a deep
level of thinking (nor does it mean we
haven’t provided it either). We must
consciously ask students to extend
their thinking in order to improve their
thinking.” ~Karin Hess
As we continue our journey of
curriculum review into CCSS
curriculum alignment,
 We
must remain conscious of our
questioning, our modeling, and our
guidance to teach students how to extend
their thinking.
 We must ask our students to extend their
thinking on the new SBAC assessments.
 We must prepare them to be college and
career ready!
Why MUST we change?
Condeleesa Rice said 70% of students in
American are no longer accepted into
the military because they lack a diploma.
They must take the ASVAB, now an
admissions exam that is being
recalibrated every year to add rigor.
(Daggett, 2013)
College and Career Ready?



86% of high school teachers say their kids are
ready for college-; only 21% of college
teachers agree.
Nationally, college retention rates are 55.5%
in 2-year colleges and 36.6% in 4-year
colleges.
13 million are unemployed but 3.8 million jobs
remain unfilled.
(Daggett, 2013)
Kansas is comparable
How will we apply this
knowledge to change
instruction, expectation,
assessment, and
preparation for the
SBAC, college, and
career?
Even if we shoot high and slightly
miss the mark, haven't we developed
our students to be better, independent
thinkers?
Sounds like a win-win to me.
Rigor. Text complexity.
Difficulty. Thinking.
Teaching. Learning.
 Broas,
Sarah.
http://littlebitofliteracy.blogspot.com/2012
/09/webbs-depth-of-knowledge.html.
 Daggett, Bill. (July, 2013). Begin with the
End in Mind. Keynote address presented
at Model Schools Conference,
Washington, D.C.