Cognitive Demand Levels of Tasks in 8th Grade Textbook and Mathematics Program

The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive demand levels of the mathematics tasks in Turkey’s 8th grade mathematics curriculum and textbook. The data was collected via document analyses. The findings revealed that the percentage of tasks requiring high cognitive demand levels were 87 % and 76 % in the curriculum and textbook respectively. The percentages were 67 % in the curriculum and 77 % in the textbook for numbers, 92 % and 79 % for geometry and measurement, 92 % and 57 % for algebra. For the statistics and data analysis percentages were 100. Thus, the cognitive demand levels of the tasks in the 8th grade textbook were below the levels suggested in the curriculum. Based on these results, it is recommended that textbooks should include tasks that require higher cognitive demand levels.