When we develop a teaser on a new topic, we try to develop and test enough questions to create more than one teaser. Each of the teasers made on that specific topic is regarded as a version. These versions are intended to be interchangeable.

Every teaser progresses through a number of different steps to completion. Each step represents additions to the teaser and its functionality.

Step 1: Teaser questions have been created and tested. The teaser is available online for the use of researchers.

Step 2: Teachers can make comments on student answers, students can read these comments, and student answers can be downloaded.

Step 3: The first, provisional, version of the teaser rubrics are available, and results are linked to an early version of a report containing learning suggestions and activities.

Step 4: Fully tested rubrics are available, and results are linked to a well-developed report containing learning suggestions and activities.

We use the word level when we are talking about one of 13 levels in the dynamic skill scale. These levels go from 0 to 12, starting in infancy and going well into adulthood.

We divide each level in the dynamic skill scale into 4 phases—transitional, unelaborated, elaborated, and highly elaborated. Student scores are reported as phase scores. The first two digits in a score (like 08:3 or 10:1) represent the level, and the last digit represents the phase.

Dr. Kurt Fischer of Harvard's Graduate School of Education established a developmental theory called Dynamic Skill Theory during the latter half of the last century. One of the components of his model are developmental levels. He calls these levels dynamic skill levels. We decided to work with this model because we think it is the most useful developmental model in existence.

Each level in the dynamic skill scale represents a new level of hierarchical complexity—a new way of thinking. To learn more, see our interactive presentation about DiscoTest.

"Disco" is short for discourse, which seems like a good way of saying that we make tests that are intended to be part of an informative conversation between students and teachers. Disco is also a word that's associated with having a good time. We think learning is inherently fun and we want students to think so too.

The trademark lectica comes from the word dialectical, which we like because it highlights the conversational nature of teaching and learning.

We decided to call DiscoTests teasers because we wanted (1) to emphasize the way they ask students to grapple with ideas, and (2) to soften some of the negative associations students may have for the word "test."