1.
LITERATURE
TESTING
Presenter:
Jerra Niña L. Puracan

2.
• Literature testing aims 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).
• Stern (1987) in her article, “Expanded Dimensions to
Literature in ESL/EFL: An Integrated Approach,”
stressed the great influence of literature to language
learning.
Rationale of Literature Testing

3.
Why should we test literature?
 to develop literary competence
 to bring a literary piece of art to students'
intellectual and emotional baggages
 to develop decision-making and
meaning-making

4.
Formats of Literature Tests
The format of literature tests addresses specific
language skills. It may be oral or written.
• Oral literature tests challenge the speaking and
listening skills of the students.
• Written tests demand skills in reading and
writing.

5.
Common Types
of Literature Tests
 Multiple Choice
 True or False
 Gap-Filling
 Essay Test
 Knowledge Question
 Oral Test

6.
Testing literature has been influenced by theories of
reading, literary theories and criticism, and
teaching styles.
Questions fall into two main categories:
 questions that do not require contact with the text
 questions that do require contact with the text
Literature tests are categorized into two:
 tests of literary information
 tests of literary interpretation

7.
• According to the Taxonomy of Cognitive Questions,
questioned are classified, according to
complexity, as follows:
1. literal comprehension
2. reorganization
3. inferential comprehension
4. evaluation
5. appreciation

8.
Examples of
Literature Tests

9.
1. Testing Literal Comprehension
- includes recall of details, main ideas, sequence,
comparisons, cause and effect relationships
and character traits
a. Objective Type
• Recall of details: Identify the characters who said
the following lines in the story.
• Sequence: Rearrange the order of events
below as they happened in the story.

10.
b. Essay Type
• Comparisons: What are the contrasting
characteristics of the protagonist and the
antagonist as described by the author?
• Character traits: Cite incidents in the story that
show the strained relationship between the
couple.

11.
2. Testing Reorganization
- entails classifying, outlining, summarizing, and
synthesizing ideas
a. Objective Type
• Classifying: Select the item that does not
belong to the group.
• Synthesizing: From the choices given, select the
statement that expresses the theme of each of
the following selections.

12.
b. Essay Type
• Outlining: Construct a topic outline of the essay
providing at least three main heads and a
number of sub-heads.
• Summarizing: Write a one-paragraph summary
of the plot of the story.

13.
3. Testing Inference
- Inferential tests require students to use information
explicitly stated in the text along with personal experience
and knowledge in order to conjecture and to form
hypothesis.Tests include:
• inferring supporting
details
• main idea
• sequence
• comparisons
• cause-and-effect
relationships
• character traits
• author's organization
• predicting outcomes
• interpreting
figurative language

14.
a. Objective Type
• Interpreting figurative language: Choose the best
interpretations of the following figurative lines within the
context of the poem.
• Inferring character traits: Match the adjectives that best
describe the traits of the character as shown by his/her
actions.
b. Essay Type
• Predicting outcomes: What do you think is in store for
Lumnay as the symbols at the end of the story portend?
• Inferring author's organization: Why did Nick Joaquin
use three generations in his story?

15.
4. Testing Evaluation
- Evaluation tests require students to compare
information and ideas in a text with material presented
by the instructor or other authorities and with the
student's own knowledge and experience in order to form
judgements of various kinds.
Tests include judgements of:
• reality and fantasy
• fact or opinion
• adequacy and validity
• appropriateness
• worth
• desirability
• acceptability

16.
a. Objective Type
• Judgment of fact or opinion: Write O if the following
statement expresses an opinion of a reader on the
story, F is the statement is stated by the author in the
story.
b. Essay Type
• Judgments of reality and fantasy: Do the events in the
story depict real-life situations or are they just product
of the author's imagination? Explain.
• Judgment of acceptability: Are the actions of the hero
acceptable from the moral point of view? Why or why
not?

17.
5. Testing Appreciation
- Appreciation tests require students to articulate
emotional and aesthetic responses to the text based on
personal and professional standards of literary forms,
styles, genres, theories, critical approaches.
Tests include:
• giving emotional response to the text
• identifying with characters or incidents
• reacting to author's or speaker's connotative
and denovative use of language
• reacting to imagery

18.
a. Objective Type
• Reacting to author's connotative use of language: Select
the best connotative meaning of the underlined word in
each statement lifted from the story.
b. Essay Type
• Identifying with character or incidents: Which
character in the story can you identify most? What are
your similarities?
• Responding emotionally to the text: How do you feel
towards Hamlet? Do you symphatize with him?
Why or why not?

19.
Evaluating Literature Tests
Objective Type
• easy to evaluate
because there are ready
answer keys to the
questions.
Essay Type
• difficult to assess
because the evaluation
focuses on both content
(substance of the
response) and form
(language of the
response).

20.
Literal Comprehension &
Inference Test
Evaluation and
Appreciation Tests
• Content should be assigned
more weight than form.
• Assessment should be based
on its consistency with the
literary text.
• Assessment should consider
grammar and diction.
• Depends on the student's
ability to expound his/her
ideas; the more proficient in
language the student is, the
more chances he/she has of
getting good ratings.

21.
THANK YOU!