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AI Tool for English / ELA Teachers

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. The DOK Alignment Tool applies ELA-specific DOK descriptors: 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). CCSS RI and RL standards aligned.

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CCSS RI/RL
Standards-aligned for ELA
DOK 1-4
ELA-specific classifications
5 genres
Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, argument
3 rewrites
Higher-DOK revision options per item

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 classroom reading assessment DOK distribution to state ELA test cognitive demand profiles 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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