ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES IN TEACHING LITERATURE

What is assessment?

Assessment is the act of gathering information daily to understand individual student's learning and needs. (This
implies that it is something we do ‘with’ and ‘for’ students not ‘to’ students)

- "In the context of language teaching and learning, 'assessment' refers to the act of collecting information and
making judgements about a language learner's knowledge of a language and ability to use it." (Carol Chapelle
and Geoff Brindley)

Assessment Strategies

 Some of the most familiar assessment strategies are quizzes, tests, state-administered standardized
tests, and essays. While each of these relatively traditional forms of assessment has its place in a
curriculum, many teachers are finding that they are limiting in other, important ways. This has prompted
many teachers to design alternative assessments that they feel better match and evaluate the content of
the instruction.
 Authentic assessment strategies or, more neutrally, as “alternative assessment”, such as portfolios,
performances, and exhibitions, allow students to showcase their talents and what they have learned in a
course in creative manner. Authentic assessment strategies can be used in almost any types of courses,
even those that more often use traditional forms of assessment
 Many teachers are now also experimenting with self-evaluation and peer-evaluation. Some
educational theorists believe that students are more invested in their performance in the course when
they know that they (and their peers) are actively involved in the overall assess

Terms

 Assessment: An appraisal or evaluation.

 Self-evaluation: allowing students to evaluate their own performance on assignments

 Peer-evaluation: allowing students to evaluate the performance of their peers on assignments

Two categories of literature test:

1. Literary Information Tests.

The Information Literacy Test (ILT) is a computerized, multiple-choice test developed collaboratively by
the JMU Center for Assessment and Research Studies (CARS) and JMU Libraries. It is designed to assess the
ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. These standards call for an information
literate student to:

 Determine the nature and extent of the information needed;

 Access needed information effectively and efficiently;
 Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into his or her
knowledge base and value system;
 Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose; - Understand many of the economic, legal,
and social issues surrounding the use of information and access and use information ethically and legally.

2. Literary Interpretation Tests.

Having accepted the principle of assessment based on proficiency rather than fact-acquisition for the four
language skills, the group tried to apply the same principle to literary interpretation. ACTFL has no rating scale in
this area, so the author undertook to elaborate one.

- The four levels of the author's scale are based on a graduated arrangement of interpretive activities, each
composed of an action and a textual or contextual component.
- Since literary interpretation requires strong reading comprehension, the novice level presupposes an
intermediate-high level of reading comprehension.
- The notional components are sequenced from the specific and concrete to the general and abstract (e.g.,
from plot events to temporal structures). They are also arranged to move readers out of a self-oriented
(biographical) perspective into a more world-oriented one (e.g., from character description to the work's
relation to its socio-cultural or historical contexts).
- Finally, the components are increasingly self-conscious. The functions progress from recognizing and
distinguishing through describing to understanding and finally to analyzing critically.
- The same textual/contextual component may appear at several levels, each time, however, matched with
a different action. The group is here concerned with the assessment of interpretive proficiency, not
coverage.
- Consequently, the focus is on literary components that can be used to interpret any work, both as a
coherent textual structure and as an element in larger contextual frameworks.
SUMMARY

In summary, assessment is an appraisal or evaluation of student learning. It is important to use a variety

of assessment strategies to evaluate student learning and to involve students in the assessment process. This
can help students develop a deeper understanding of the material and improve their critical thinking skills.

In terms of teaching literature, there are several assessment strategies that can be employed.
1. Such strategy is purpose-driven assessment, which can be used to inform instructional strategies
or quantify students’ knowledge at a given point in time.
2. Another strategy is to clarify learning targets, which can help students better understand what
they expected to learn. Teachers can also use everyday data in new ways, integrate assessment
and teaching, and join forces with colleagues to develop effective assessment strategies

IMPORTANCE

Learning strategies in teaching literature can help students develop important life skills such as
communication, creativity, problem-solving and help students develop critical thinking. By analyzing literary works,
students can learn how to communicate their ideas effectively, think creatively, and solve problems in a logical
and systematic way. It improves their reading comprehension, and foster a love for reading. These skills can be
applied to a wide range of situations and are essential for success in both personal and professional life.

Prepared by:

Ma. Hearty Hanna M. Bocito