DOK Alignment Tool for English / ELA Teachers
ELA assessments are deceptively easy to misclassify by cognitive demand. A question using the verb 'analyze' can be DOK 1 if the answer is explicitly stated in the text. You can read the DOK levels for ELA as: DOK 1 (recall stated facts, identify named elements), DOK 2 (summarize, interpret figurative language, identify text structures), DOK 3 (infer author purpose, support a claim with textual evidence, analyze how literary choices create meaning), DOK 4 (synthesize across multiple texts, evaluate competing interpretations). You can check items against CCSS RI and RL standards yourself.
This page fills in a draft from a template. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
- Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, argument
- 5 genres
How teachers use this for English / ELA teachers
Novel unit test audit
Classify comprehension and analysis questions on a To Kill a Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby test to confirm students must interpret theme and author craft, not just identify plot events.
Literary analysis essay rubric
Evaluate essay rubric criteria by DOK level to ensure the highest performance level rewards evidence-based literary analysis (DOK 3) rather than organized summary (DOK 2).
Informational reading assessment
Audit nonfiction reading comprehension questions to confirm students must reason about author argument, evaluate evidence quality, and distinguish claims from evidence.
Grammar and writing skills check
Classify grammar assessments by DOK level, identifying an error is DOK 1; revising a sentence for clarity and explaining why the revision works is DOK 3.
State test reading preparation
Compare your classroom reading assessment's DOK counts with your own state ELA test information to identify whether students are being adequately prepared for inferencing and reasoning tasks.
AP language and literature alignment
Audit AP English assessments to confirm free-response items and multiple-choice questions reflect the synthesis and rhetorical analysis demands of the AP exam.
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What this page does here
This page builds a draft from a template on this device. Copy prompt gives you the prompt for any AI chat.
Questions teachers ask
Why does the AI classify some 'analyze' questions as DOK 1?
Because DOK is about cognitive demand, not question vocabulary. A question asking 'analyze the metaphor in line 12' is DOK 1 if the metaphor is obvious and stated explicitly in a footnote, DOK 2 if the student must identify and interpret it, or DOK 3 if the student must explain how it connects to the poem's central theme and support that interpretation with evidence. The AI looks at what the student must cognitively do to answer correctly, not the verb used in the question.
What is a good DOK distribution for a high school ELA unit test?
For a high school ELA unit test, one possible mix has less DOK 1 (plot recall, vocabulary identification), a good share of DOK 2 (summary, paraphrase, identify literary devices) and DOK 3 (infer author purpose, analyze literary choices with evidence, compare interpretations), and some DOK 4 (extended synthesis across multiple texts or written analysis). Many reading standards at Grades 9-12 ask for DOK 3 thinking, so assessments should reflect that.
How does DOK apply to writing assessments?
Writing tasks have DOK levels just like reading questions. DOK 1 writing: copy, fill in blanks, reproduce. DOK 2 writing: summarize, describe, retell in your own words. DOK 3 writing: construct an argument with evidence, analyze how a text creates meaning, compare two works across a shared theme. DOK 4 writing: synthesize multiple sources to address a complex question, produce an extended research-based analysis. Knowing the DOK level of a writing task helps teachers calibrate expectations and feedback.
Can DOK analysis help me write better close-reading questions?
Yes. Close reading is inherently a DOK 3 activity, students must attend to specific words, phrases, and structures to make inferences about meaning. Close-reading questions that can be answered without close reading (the answer is stated explicitly) have slipped to DOK 1. The sheet helps you audit whether your close-reading questions actually require the careful reading they are supposed to prompt.
Does the tool work for poetry, drama, and non-standard texts?
Yes. You can paste or describe assessment items for any text type (poetry analysis, drama scene discussion, speech or argument analysis, graphic text comprehension) and the AI gives each one a DOK level with a reason. The cognitive demand of interpreting a poem differs from interpreting an informational article, so adapt the sheet's descriptors to those distinctions.
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