Alternative Forms of Literature Assessment

From my experience doing the International Baccalaureate in JC, I realise that I have been exposed to many different methods of assessment to check for understanding about particular texts — we had written assignments, oral presentations, oral commentary as well as the actual exam itself. One of the methods of assessment that particularly intrigued me was the possibility of being assessed through creative writing. One could theoretically adapt some part of the assigned work (eg. through writing a scene in a certain character's voice, writing an alternative ending, doing things like a diary entry or a letter) and as long as it suits the particular work being addressed, it would suffice for the assessment. However, students were actively discouraged from pursuing this option because, as we were told, "it is difficult to score for options like this." While on one hand I suppose it is, indeed, risky to engage in this as creative pieces are always marked more subjectively as compared to pieces putting forth an argument about a certain point in a text (then again, everything is marked with a certain degree of subjectiveness anyway and to get sucked into that argument would be akin to arguing about which came first — the chicken or the egg?) it is definitely an interesting way to test for understanding of the text because students would be required to have a good grasp of their chosen topic to expand on. For example, if a student chose to write a diary entry from the perspective of a supporting character, they would then be required to have sound understanding of what makes the character tick, the character's mannerisms and how the character's voice should sound like. From this we would thus be able to understand just how much the student comprehends about the aspect of the text they are grappling with. However, this form of assessment has since been replaced by other forms of assessment, as can be seen from the new syllabus here. Nevertheless, the idea of doing a creative piece based on the text students have studied remains as a good idea for me in terms of testing for student understanding.

Another method of alternative assessment that struck me was this, the brown bag exam. It involves putting different items in relation to the text you are studying into a bag, and giving the bags to your students to spark discussion. Students will be placed into groups and will be asked to discuss the items they have been given, and would have to find links to the text as well as supporting passages for evidence for their points. Of course, students would share their points with the class later on, and I find that this is an interesting method of assessment as it forces students to make connections quickly and find evidence in their text to back up their points as soon as possible. It also allows for the teacher to attempt to connect certain themes based on the placement of the items in each bag, and it allows for students to exchange and come up with ideas about the text through alternative forms of looking at the text — at physical objects related to it rather than at the text itself.

Finally, one other method of alternative assessment that I found (you can download the full list here) interesting was the creation of a travel brochure for the text that you are studying. Students are tasked with creating a brochure for a tour of somewhere in the text. For example, spots mentioned in a tour for Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha would probably include where Siddhartha met Gautama and where Siddhartha stayed with Kamala, which were two important places within the novella. This would be an interesting way for testing the students' understanding of the importance of setting in a text and explaining its significance with regard to the events that happen within the text. Having the students describe the sights the travellers would want to see and the inclusion of photos or illustrations further brings mean that students must know clearly why a place in the text might be interesting, and its significance to the characters in the text. Having students attempt to sell their travel packages to their classmates would definitely be an interesting classroom experience!