Literature Assessment

7/28/2019 Literature Assessment

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It is openly believed that in literature classes,

students should not be tested through paper and pencil

test. This is mostly based on the assumption that

literature aims for appreciation only. However, the aim

of literature testing is to institutionalize certain

concepts and facts which are part of the literary

learning and to direct attention to the relatively more

important literary skill (Tenbrink,1998).


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Testing has been influenced by theories ofreading, literary theories and criticism, andteaching styles.

1. questions that do not require contactwith the text.

2. questions that do require contact withthe text.

Questions fall into two main categories:


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Literature tests are categorized into two:

1. tests of literary information.

2. tests of literary interpretation

1. Identify the context

-learning context, language level, role ofliterature, profile of the language course,profile of the literature course, role of the test,profile of the test, the test writing context


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2. Write the test

-identifying the target competence, planningthe over-all shape of the test

3. Select texts

-seen texts vs. unseen texts

4. Group skills

-skills literary knowledge and skills forliterary appreciation


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5. Match texts to tasks-tasks with seen texts

6.Write test items

-discrete point, integrative, task oriented,essay type like open-ended tests

7. Clarify marking criteria

-may include a set of criteria, e.g. contentRelevance, etc.


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1. What or who is the role model of literarycompetence: the literary scholar, poet,appreciative reader, culturally informed readeror a competent language user?

2. What kinds of skills or knowledge would bedemonstrated by the target competence? What

is expected of the students to do successfully?


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4. What are the criteria for selecting thetexts for the test?

5. What is the relationship of the skillbeing to what the test measures?

3. How are these areas of skills orKnowledge measured?


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What is a good literature test?

measures what it aims to measure.

cover a balance and appropriate sampleareas that have been taught and not randomareas or texts that leave the success of anexaminees performance to chance.

meet the expectations of theteacher and the examiner.

A good literature test is


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ensure that learners are familiar with textsused.

provide a balance of question types, contentand skills areas so that a rounded profile ofeach examinee can be gleaned from the test,

set texts and tasks which are feasiblewithin the allotted time.


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Guidelines for Selecting Texts for theLiterature Test

The text may either be seen or unseen.

The text may either be full-length or extracts.

The texts should exemplify examples of eachgenre- poem, essay, short story, novel& drama.


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WINTERTemplateThe chosen texts should be representative ofthe chosen themes, topics, and issues.

The texts should match the cognitive

level of the examinees.

The texts should be long enough to generatemeaningful activity, but short enough to bepractical for a timed activity.


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What does a literature test measure?

Knowledge of literary terms; concepts;Elements and conventions of each literarygenre; figures of speech; kinds of short

Stories/novels, kinds of poems, etc.


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- explain the use of symbol; how anauthor presents the theme, explain the

figures of speech, point out theatmosphere; and how it was established.


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Interpreting symbols

Interpreting theme

Interpreting character

Interpreting point of view

Interpreting setting


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Interpreting conflicts

Interpreting style

Interpreting tone


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WINTERTemplateI.Testing Knowledge of Literary

Terms

1.It is an object that stands for orrepresents an idea or belief.

A. symbol C. foilB. imagery D. figure

2. A long narrative poem which tellsof the adventure of a noble hero

who represents the ideals of hisrace or countryA. ballad C. EpicB. metrical tale D. metrical

romance


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3. It is a type of a novel which literally meansa novel with a keyA. bildungsroman C. Novel of mannersB. roman-a-clef D. Epistolary novel

4. Which elements of the short story isexemplified by this excerpt?

The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and wide. On this side therewas no shades & no trees & the station was between two lines of rails in thesun. Close against the side of the station there was a warm shadow of the

building & a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the opendoor into the bar.

A. setting C. themeB. point of view D. plot


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II. Testing Skills in LiteraryInterpretation

After reading the poem, answer the followingQuestions.

Because I could not stop for death

1. Because I could not stop for death2. He kindly stopped for me

3. The carriage held but just ourselves4. And immortality

- Emily Dickinson

1. What figure of speech is evident in line 2?A. simile C. personificationB. metaphor D. metonymy


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2. Ourselves in Line 3 refers toA. death and the adresseB. death and the personaC. death and life

D. death and immortalityCactus

1. excuse the cactus2. thirsting the sill3. excuse its quills

4. stuck out:5. theyre only an attempt

6. at self-defense.7. See how it bleeds

8. to fossils the old sand


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1. The plant cactus stands forA. despair and pessimismB. courage and optimismC. ability to adjustD. sense of endurance

2. The colon after the phrase stuck out inline 4 is used to _________

A. explain

B. clarityC. justifyD. defend


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Example of skills and tasks in a literature test

Skills TasksAppreciating information in openings;how an author sets the theme

Select from opening paragraphs theinformation that will be important to thestory;What can be inferred about the storybased on the opening paragraphs?

Appreciating how a dialogue operates;what it reveals about the character

Rewrite dialogues using ones words;change dialogues and discuss its effectson the story

Recognizing tone in a text Compare two versions of the same text;identify the changes and their effects

Recognizing development and sequenceof the plot

Rearrange the events to come up withthe plot; compare two different plots anddiscuss the similarities/ differences inplot sequence

Recognizing the characteristics of theshort story

Identify the elements of the short story;discuss each element

Recognizing the role of setting in thestory

Describe the setting- time & place

Developing empathy with situation &characters

List what you would do in thecircumstances of the story; do thecharacters respond in the same way ordifferently


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1. Multiple choicethis type of test gives a question 7 anumber of options from which the examineehas to choose the correct/best answer.

Incomplete statementEx: In Tolstoys God Sees The Truth butWaits Aksyonof was imprisoned for __ years

A. 24 C. 26B. 25 D. 27


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Complete statementEx: I am between the devil and the deep bluesea.A. between heaven and hellB. between enemies & friendsC. between two opposing problemsD. between two similarly situation

Question

Ex: How is Miss Julie described in StrindbergsFamous play?A. full of herself C. victim of the societyB. morally corrupt D. all of the above


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2. Completion or Gap fillingThe examinee has to complete a sentence

by filling a gap or adding something.

Ex: The odyssey was written by ____. Thebrave hero of this epic is ______ whohas a beautiful wife, ______ and ayoung son_____. He settled to ____tohelp the Greeks fight the Trojans. His

brilliance is manifested when hesupervised the building of the _____which was instrumental in defeatingTroy.


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WINTERTemplate3. Matching TypeThe examinee is faced with two groups of words,Phrases or sentences. Each item has to be linkedto a different item in the second.

Ex: A. B_____1. American Literature a. Kerima Polotan-Tuvera_____2. Latin-American Lit. b. Amy Tan_____3. African Literature c. Li Po_____4. Chinese Literature d. Bessie Head_____5. Philippines Literature e. Laura Esquivel


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4. Question and AnswerThis type of test asks the examinee a questionto be answered by giving short or long answers.

Ex: What is Heathcliffs dilemma?What does Hamlet speak of inhis famous soliloquy, To be ornot to be?


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5. True or FalseThis type of test asks the examinee to answertrue or false to a statement given.

Ex: _____1. One of the elements to magicrealism is the use of cyclical plots._____2.During the Spanish regime,Philippine literature is characterized as

an attempt to imitate literary workswritten in most western countries.


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Essay typeThis type of test requires the examinee toanswera question using detailed proofs& explanation.

Ex: Which of the following haiku writers bestuse concepts of Buddhism in his works?Explain your reasons or justifications.1. Basho

2. Issa3. Buson

Documents

Literature Assessment