How should teachers distribute cognitive levels of questions relative to grade levels?

When considering how teachers should distribute cognitive levels of questions relative to grade levels, the approach that more than half should be at higher cognitive levels for secondary students while being below half in elementary is based on the developmental readiness and cognitive abilities of students across different grade levels.

In secondary education, students generally possess greater abstract thinking skills, allowing them to engage with complex concepts and apply higher-order thinking skills more effectively. As they progress through their education, they are ready to tackle analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, which are considered higher cognitive levels. This leads to a curriculum that can prioritize these types of questions to build critical thinking skills necessary for success in higher education and adult life.

Conversely, elementary students are still in the process of developing foundational skills, such as basic comprehension and recall, which are essential before they can successfully engage with higher-level cognitive tasks. Early education focuses significantly on building core competencies, where lower and middle cognitive level questions are more appropriate and effective for reinforcing learning and ensuring students have a solid understanding before they can explore more complex ideas.

This balanced approach recognizes the growth trajectory in cognitive development and aligns the distribution of question types to foster appropriate learning experiences, enabling students to progress at a pace that suits their developmental stages. Hence, the distribution should reflect