Assessment of Literature in RGS

By allowing the students to bypass the ‘O’ Level examinations, the school gains quite a lot of freedom in setting its assessment modes for Literature (and for other disciplines as well). I have to stress that a lot of attention is actually paid to the concept of assessment (its purposes and types) in the school as a whole, to ensure that the objectives of an Integrated Programme (increased rigour in each specific discipline to stretch the potential of high-ability students) are met. (Even as a trainee, I have already had to attend department-wide workshops on formative assessments). In short, not participating in the ‘O’ Level examination seems to mean that teachers feel a need to be more thorough than ever in planning assessments, to ensure that students do get something out of their education in the programme.

For Literature, I have observed a vast range of assessment tools/modes, usually referred to using acronyms (the better to write an assessment-themed rap with). So far, I have noted these:

CBA: Class-Based Assessments, usually a series of short-answered test questions to check the students’ factual knowledge of the texts (i.e. to make sure they read their texts). I have already taken part in the setting, administering, and marking of such tests.

AA: Alternative Assessments, which tends to be something a little more ‘creative’, where they are tested on their understanding of the text (usually with a focus on characterization) using character journals (diary entries where students are asked to write using the voice of key characters in the text) or fakebook (something like this).

SA or PPA: Summative Assessment or Pen-and-Paper Assessment, rather close to what you might expect of a regular Literature exam. So far, one paper I’ve seen (helped to vet) looks pretty much identical to the regular passage-based question.

PT: Performance Task, where students are asked to perform, by presenting the evidence of their learning. I have not actually seen an example of this for the level (Year 3) I am teaching, but I know that the Year 2 task for Romeo and Juliet was for the students to put up a creative re-enactment of a specified scene from the play. The students were required to change the context of the play, while retaining aspects such as characterization and plot development. E.g. Take Romeo and Juliet to Bollywood, or make them merpeople (real examples). This can get rather elaborate, as the students have to propose a reworked script, sketch (and produce) their own costumes, and put up the selected scene.

FA: Formative Assessment, which could be anything that we get students to do to test their understanding throughout the course of the unit. This could be somewhat formal (e.g. getting students to respond to close-reading questions in class) or really informal (exit cards, show of hands, etc.)