Finding the Real Starting Line with SOLO Taxonomy

In the last post, we walked through the 5 Cs of Curriculum Compacting: 

Catch It, Clear It, Connect It, Check It, Capture It. 

That framework only works if Catch It actually catches something real. Before we get into the compacted materials themselves, we need to answer a question that’s at the heart of the whole process. How do we know what a learner truly knows?

This is where SOLO Taxonomy comes in.

What is SOLO Taxonomy?

SOLO stands for Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes. It was developed by John Biggs and Kevin Collis in 1982. SOLO provides a way to describe a learner’s depth of understanding of the content, not just if they know the right answer to a surface-level question.

SOLO describes five levels of understanding:

1. Pre-structural: the learner has little to no relevant understanding yet; responses may be off-topic or missing the point entirely.

2. Uni-structural: the learner can identify one relevant piece of information or make one correct connection.

3. Multi-structural: the learner can identify several relevant pieces of information, but treats them as separate facts rather than a connected whole.

4. Relational: the learner connects those separate pieces into a coherent whole and can explain how they relate to each other.

5. Extended abstract: the learner can take that coherent understanding and generalize it, apply it to a new or unfamiliar situation, or use it to reason about something beyond what was directly taught.

Levels 1-3 sit inside what most classrooms would consider grade-level, Tier 1 thinking. Levels 4-5 are where a learner has moved past simply knowing the content into genuinely reasoning with it.

How It Can Be Used

SOLO isn't just a scoring rubric. It's a diagnostic tool. When you write a pre-assessment with SOLO levels in mind, you're not asking, "does this learner know the content yet?" You're asking, "how far into the content can this learner already reason?"

That distinction matters for two reasons. 

1. It gives you a starting point for every learner in the room, not just the ones who've already been identified as gifted or advanced. A learner doesn't need a label to show up at Level 4 or 5, and a learner with a label doesn't automatically land there either. SOLO-based assessment is readiness-based, which means it catches readiness wherever it shows up.

   
   

2. It lets you assess growth honestly, on both ends. A learner who moves from pre-structural to multi-structural has grown. A learner who starts at relational and moves to extended abstract has also grown. (Growth can also happen within a level). Standard grade-level post-assessments aren’t built to see the second kind of growth, because it stops measuring at Tier 1, creating a low ceiling for many learners.

A Quick Example

Let's say the content anchor is simple machines and mechanical advantage. A pre-assessment question at each level might look like:

• Pre-structural: What is a lever?

• Uni-structural: Name one simple machine and give one example of it in use.

• Multi-structural: List three simple machines and describe how each one is used.

• Relational: Explain how a lever and a pulley both make work easier, using the idea of force and distance.

• Extended abstract: A bicycle uses several simple machines working together. Identify them and explain how removing one would change how the whole system works.

You're not expecting every learner to attempt every question successfully. You're looking for the point where their response shifts from confident to shaky. That's roughly their starting SOLO level.

Tier 1 Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

For many learners, Tier 1 instruction is exactly what they need to grow. However, for a meaningful number of learners, Tier 1 is the floor they walked in on, not the ceiling of what they're capable of. If our assessments only ever measure up to this floor, we'll never actually see or measure the growth that happens above it.

If the goal is to engage and grow every learner, we have to know where each one is actually starting. SOLO Taxonomy gives us a way to find that starting line honestly, for every learner in the room.

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To learn more or talk through how this could work in your classroom, building, or district:

1. Check out the next article: How to use SOLO Taxonomy to create an effective pre- and post-assessment quickly.

2. Reach out at angiefugatebtc@gmail.com 

3. Fill out the contact form at the bottom of this site.