DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE

ASSESSMENT THROUGH CONSTRUCTED RESPONSES - ELA

Level 1 and 2 QuestioningRecall – • Facts and basic knowledgeSkills / Concepts –• Application in predicable circumstances

Level 3 and 4 QuestioningStrategic Reasoning – • complex thinking• rationalizing,• more than one possible

answerExtended Reasoning-• Multiple Steps• Across Content Areas• Applied to real world and

novel circumstances

WHY THE SHIFT TOWARDS DEEPER INQUIRY?

Level 1 and 2 QuestioningRecall – • Facts and basic knowledgeSkills / Concepts –• Application in predicable circumstances

Level 3 and 4 QuestioningStrategic Reasoning – • complex thinking• rationalizing,• more than one possible

answerExtended Reasoning-• Multiple Steps• Across Content Areas• Applied to real world and

novel circumstances

WHY THE SHIFT TOWARDS DEEPER INQUIRY?C

ST

CST has only assessed students on their ability to think at levels 1 and 2.

Level 1 and 2 QuestioningRecall – • Facts and basic knowledgeSkills / Concepts –• Application in predicable circumstances

Level 3 and 4 QuestioningStrategic Reasoning – • complex thinking• rationalizing,• more than one possible

answerExtended Reasoning-• Multiple Steps• Across Content Areas• Applied to real world and

novel circumstances

WHY THE SHIFT TOWARDS DEEPER INQUIRY?

SB

AC

SBAC will be assessing students both in level 1 and 2, as well as in their ability to think at higher levels.

LEVEL 1 EXAMPLE: GRADE 8

Which of these events happened FIRST in the lives of the characters?

A. Jill and Steve meet at the coffee shop

B. Jill’s parents decide t stay in New Mexico

C. Steve gets a job teaching high school in Colorado

D. Jill and Steve visit Carlsbad Caverns together on a field trip

This is a grade 8 item that is coded to depth of knowledge level one. This item requires students to recall identify a single event from a sequence.

LEVEL 2 EXAMPLE: GRADE 8

This is a grade 8 item that is coded to depth of knowledge level two. This item requires students understand two events, and then compare these events.

LEVEL 3 EXAMPLE: GRADE 8

The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf

A Shepherd's Boy was tending his flock near a village, and thought it would be great fun to trick the villagers by pretending that a Wolf was attacking the sheep: so he shouted out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and when the people came running up he laughed at them because they believed him. He did this more than once, and every time the villagers found they had been tricked, for there was no Wolf at all. At last a Wolf really did come, and the Boy cried, "Wolf! Wolf!" as loud as he could: but the people were so used to hearing him call that they took no notice of his cries for help. And so no one came to help the boy, and the Wolf attacked the sheep.

In a few sentences, explain what lesson the reader can learn from the shepherd’s boy. Use details from the story to support your response.

This is a grade 8 item that is coded to depth of knowledge level three. This item requires students to 1. Draw Conclusions and 2. Cite Evidence

LEVEL 4 EXAMPLE: GRADE 8

Skills developed in the various Depth of Knowledge levels.

Classroom application of these skills