Grade 11 and DOK III Items Added to MCA Released Items
Submitted by
Angela Hochstetter – Math Assessment Specialist, MNDOE
Ann Page – Math Assessment Specialist, MNDOE
MDE added 21 released items to the released item web page. The items span grades 3 through 8 and 11, including a few DOK III items. All items include a data table and rationales for use in error analysis. All items on the MDE Released Item webpage were used operationally on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA-III). Please note that these items are different than the ones on the item sampler.
CAUTION:
It is not appropriate or advisable to use released item scores for determining student placement in classes or as a predictor of success on the MCA-III. The items are merely a sampling of the item bank and, therefore, do not mirror the blueprint for the MCA-III. Also, because the items are available publicly, overexposure could potentially skew results.
Before using the released items be sure to review the Released Item and Data Table User Guide.
The newly released items are mixed in with the items released in March of 2017. The table shows a list of the newly-released items.
As always, please contact Angela or Ann with any comments or questions.
Angela Hochstetter – Math Assessment Specialist (angela.hochstetter@state.mn.us)
Ann Page – Math Assessment Specialist (ann.page@state.mn.us)
I am having difficulty understanding why the two questions marked as DOK3 are that level. To me, these are quite surface level questions that do not provide any variety in approach from students or any deeper thinking.
Am I missing something here?
Jamie,
The Webb’s depth of knowledge levels are determined by a panel of Minnesota teachers when the items are first developed. These items were marked as DOK 3 at that time. If you would like to look at more items and their DOK levels as determined by a panel of teachers, the item sampler teacher guide (http://minnesota.pearsonaccessnext.com/item-samplers/) would be a great resource. Some of the items also contain notes about the DOK level. We recently had an article published here in MathBits on DOK levels that gives an example of DOK 1, 2, and 3 all with a shared context that may also be of use (http://www.mctmmathbits.org/?p=1938).
It is helpful to remember that the item statistics, not the metadata (e.g., DOK), are used in the adaptation of item difficulty for a student during the adaptive test.
If you would like a chance to help make DOK decisions in the future, please consider participating on an advisory panel. You can add your name to the database here: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/dse/test/reg/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “submit your name to the Advisory Panel Register”.)
I hope this addresses your concerns. If you have additional questions, please contact angela.hochstetter@state.mn.us or ann.page@state.mn.us.