Don't let exam questions make students 'fear' literature.

The end-of-term literature exams in some schools are truly shocking for 10th and 11th grade students following the 2018 general education program.

For example, as Thanh Nien newspaper previously reported, in December 2022, 10th-grade students in some schools had to take a first-semester literature exam that was 3 or 4 pages long. This worried parents because students spent too much time reading the questions, affecting their test results.

Recently, a literature test for 11th graders at a school in Ho Chi Minh City had two parts: reading comprehension and writing. Notably, the chosen text was 70 verses excerpted from the epic poem " Crossing the Sea" of the Tay-Nung ethnic group.

The literature test included 70 poems.

As a literature teacher, I would like to offer some advice regarding the preparation of semester exams as follows:

Firstly, the text should not be too long . Some schools use excessively long texts, causing students to spend a considerable amount of time reading them. For example, the 10th-grade essay question at my child's school (now in 11th grade) was a prose text, three A4 pages long. I teach literature, but even I was overwhelmed by the question, let alone the students. Reading the question alone took 5-10 minutes, or even longer, affecting the time allotted for the essay. Therefore, the text should not exceed one A4 page, whether prose or poetry. If it's poetry, using two columns would still make it too long on one page.

Secondly, the text should not be too difficult . Long texts make it difficult for students. Difficult, academic texts make it even harder for students. Texts similar to those already taught should be used to make it easier for students to understand. The questions should also be familiar and appropriate – closely aligned with the learning objectives of the new curriculum. If the questions are open-ended, teachers should have already covered this topic beforehand, so students won't find this type of question particularly challenging. Creativity in essay questions, rather than rigidly adhering to the curriculum, will make them more engaging, relevant, and reflect real life. However, with creative questions, teachers spend considerable time collecting and formulating questions that fit the curriculum matrix and specific descriptions.

Thirdly, the multiple-choice section is not too easy . Many schools and localities still choose the reading comprehension section in multiple-choice format. In fact, the multiple-choice format is not new. It has been used in tests before. Using multiple-choice questions is also important when the essay question ensures three requirements: multiple-choice, paragraph writing, and essay writing.

For example, in the reading comprehension section, in addition to multiple-choice questions, there are also some short written questions on topics such as the main idea, message, and situational analysis. The key to achieving maximum points in this section is to be a truly excellent student.

Fourth, avoid "solving practice questions" beforehand . Out of sympathy for students and the new curriculum's learning, testing, and assessment methods, some teachers choose materials and solve practice questions in advance. Doing so makes the test questions new but still follows the same old patterns, resulting in high scores in literature (especially in the multiple-choice section where it's easy to "replicate knowledge" already covered).

These are some points to note regarding teaching, learning, testing, and evaluation: limit rote learning, avoid memorization, and prevent students from achieving high scores without a solid understanding of the subject matter, especially its practical application. To create engaging essay topics, students should draw on diverse sources, including newspapers – which reflect real life, the spirit of the times, are highly practical, and contain many beautiful and meaningful stories. During the essay writing process, students gain additional information and meaningful messages from these sources.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/dung-de-de-kiem-tra-khien-hoc-sinh-so-mon-van-185231216175054954.htm