Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

In 1997, Norman Webb developed a process and criteria for systematically analyzing the alignment between instructional standards and standardized assessments. Webb’s work grew out of research on studying different state assessments and their alignment with various state standards. Psychometricians and test developers use Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) as a way to design and evaluate different assessment tasks. It is Webb’s DOK that is used by the 2014 GED® test. It is important to recognize that Webb’s Depth of Knowledge:

  • Is descriptive; it is not a taxonomy
  • Focuses on how deeply a student has to know the content in order to respond

DOK provides instructors with a vocabulary and frame of reference when thinking about how students engage with course content and a common language to understand the cognitive demand of the 2014 GED® test.

Florida’s Instructor Handbook for GED® Preparation42

DOK Level DOK Definition DOK Examples

Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Levels
DOK Level / DOK Definition / DOK Examples
DOK-1
Recall and
Reproduction / Recall of a fact, term, principle, concept, or perform a routineprocedure. / Recall elements and details of story; structure, such as sequence of events, character, plot andsetting; Conduct basic mathematical calculations;
Label locations on a map; Represent in words or diagrams a scientific concept or relationship.
Perform routine procedures like measuring length or using punctuation marks correctly; Describe thefeatures of a place or people.
DOK-2
Basic
Application of
Skills/Concepts / Use of information, conceptual knowledge, select appropriateprocedures for a task, two ormore steps with decision pointsalong the way, routine problems, organize/display data, interpret/use simplegraphs. / Identify and summarize the major events in a narrative; Use context cues to identify themeaning of unfamiliar words; Solve routinemultiple-step problems; Describe the cause/effectof a particular event; Identify patterns in events orbehavior; Formulate a routine problem given dataand conditions; Organize, represent, and interpretdata.
DOK-3
Strategic
Thinking / Requires reasoning, developinga plan or sequence of steps toapproach problem; requiressome decision-making andjustification; abstract, complex,or non-routine; often morethan one possible answer. / Support ideas with details and examples; Usevoice appropriate to the purpose and audience;Identify research questions and designinvestigations for a scientific problem; Develop ascientific model for a complex situation;Determine the author's purpose and describehow it affects the interpretation of a readingselection; Apply a concept in other contexts.
DOK-4
Extended
Thinking / Requires investigation or application to real world;requires time to research,problem solve, and processmultiple conditions of theproblem or task; non-routinemanipulations, acrossdisciplines/contentareas/multiple sources. / A product or a project that requires specifying aproblem, designing and conducting anexperiment, analyzing its data, and reportingresults/solutions; Apply mathematical model toilluminate a problem or situation; Analyze andsynthesize information from multiple sources;Describe and illustrate how common themes arefound across texts from different cultures; Designa mathematical model to inform and solve apractical or abstract situation.

Bloom vs. Webb

You may be more familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy. The following chart provides a comparison ofthe cognitive complexity of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

Bloom’s Taxonomy / Webb’s DOK
Knowledge
The recall of specifics and universals, involvinglittle more than bringing to mind theappropriate material. / Recall
Recall of a fact, information, or procedure(e.g., What are 3 critical skill cues for theoverhand throw?)
Comprehension
The ability to process knowledge on a low levelsuch that the knowledge can be reproduced orcommunicated without a verbatim repetition.
Application
The use of abstractions in concrete situations. / Basic Application of Skill/Concept
Use of information, conceptual knowledge,procedures, two or more steps, etc. (e.g.,
Explain why each skill cue is important to theoverhand throw. By stepping forward you areable to throw the ball further.)
Analysis
The breakdown of a situation into itscomponent parts. / Strategic Thinking
Requires reasoning, developing a plan or sequence of steps; has some complexity; morethan one possible answer; generally takes lessthan 10 minutes to do (e.g., Design 2 differentplays in basketball and explain what differentskills are needed and when the plays should becarried out.)
Synthesis and Evaluation
Putting together elements and parts to form a whole and then making value judgments aboutthe method. / Extended Thinking
Requires an investigation; time to think and process multiple conditions of the problem ortask; and more than 10 minutes to do nonroutinemanipulations (e.g., Analyze 3 differenttennis, racquetball, and badminton strokes forsimilarities, differences, and purposes. Then,discuss the relationship between themechanics of the stroke and the strategy forusing the stroke during game play.)