Not all students read the books assigned in English class. To combat this, English teachers often administer multiple choice tests that assess students’ knowledge on the plots of assigned literature.
However, students’ English grades are often dependent on their scores on these tests, and the Outlook believes that this practice is overused, encouraging students to focus on plot memorization as opposed to literary analysis.
Plot testing in its current form mostly consists of quote identification questions. While these questions are intended to measure character reasoning skills, in excession they become an overly strenuous way of holding students accountable for reading their assigned texts. Often, these assessments test details too obscure for many students to recall after just a single reading. To study, some students read their assigned texts a second time. Students should be spending this time on assignments that will improve their writing and analytical skills—which, unlike the trite details of a novel’s plot, are useful for their future.
Granted, this is not to say that English teachers should cease to administer multiple choice plot tests completely; rather, the weighting of these tests should be lower in point value.
Additionally, there should be more emphasis placed on writing in response to the assigned readings. Although take-home essays mean more work outside of class for both students and teachers, they allow for students to receive feedback on, and thus improve, their writing skills.
The grade a student receives in English class should reflect her ability to write effectively and analyze literary texts, not her knowledge of the fine details of class novels.
