Writing better tests - Of Mice and Men

One of the happy outcomes of the removal of NC levels has been the need for schools to look again at assessment at KS3, and refresh thinking in this fundamentally important area. There is much to be gained, with improved materials, approaches and systems carrying the potential to positively influence teacher workload, clarity of course design, efficiency and impact of feedback etc.

Problem is, it's hard to write reliable, valid tests that provide us with the sort of precise information on what students can / can't understand that we need. I've been working with our English department to try to write mid-term tests for a Year 8 unit on Of Mice and Men. This has led to some great discussion as we try to find greater clarity in terms of what exactly we want to teach and assess. We've come up with the below draft so far, but I'd really be interested in any views on how this is shaping up - in particular:

- are these questions clear and valid (by which I mean are we testing the right things here)? Any obvious stinkers which we should get rid of?

- are there better questions or styles of questions we could / should be asking? What could we be asking to challenge students at the top end of attainment? Ideally, there should be at least a couple that only a few should be able to answer - is it too easy at present?

The unit aims are to gain a deep understanding of the novel, including:

- comprehension of the plot, characters, themes

- context and how it influences interpretation

- experience of close analysis of language and inference

- various influential ways in which Steinbeck structures the text

- authorial intention and underlying messages

Following the test, we are intending to analyse the results, identify misconceptions, and adapt teaching as a result. This will lead to students producing a written analysis of a different extract - the description of Crooks' room.

Anyway - here it is so far - if you feel like it, let me know what you think either in the comments below, or @tomboulter.

Thanks.

Read the following extract from the beginning of Chapter 2 and then answer the questions that follow.

The bunk house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking. Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk. And these shelves were loaded with little articles, soap and talcum powder, razors and those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe. And there were medicines on the shelves, and little vials, combs; and from nails on the box sides, a few neckties. Near one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stove-pipe going straight up through the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a big square table littered with playing cards, and around it were grouped boxes for the players to sit on.

At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars. The wooden latch raised. The door opened and a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a big push-broom in his left hand. Behind him came George, and behind George, Lennie.

‘The boss was expectin’ you last night,’ the old man said. ‘He was sore as hell when you wasn’t here to go out this morning.’ He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand. ‘You can have them two beds there,’ he said, indicating two bunks near the stove. George stepped over and threw his blankets down on the burlap sack of straw that was a mattress. He looked into the box shelf and then picked a small yellow can from it. ‘Say. What the hell’s this?’

‘I don’t know,’ said the old man.

‘Says “positively kills lice, roaches, and other scourges. What the hell kind of bed you giving us, anyways..”

Comprehending the Text – select the best answers

1)      Where do men keep their personal possessions?

a.       Leaning against the wall

b.      Next to the cast iron stove

c.       In a box above their bed

d.      On a big square table

2)      What do the men sit on around the table?

a.       boxes

b.      chairs

c.       stools

d.      sofas

3)      What is the bunkhouse like?

a.       A comfortable place for the men to stay

b.      A luxury place for them to stay

c.       A basic environment to stay in with little comfort

d.      A place that they’d always dreamed of

4)      What makes George worried about the beds?

a.       Three of them have no blankets

b.      They are very near to the stove

c.       They might have bugs in them

d.      They have apple boxes nailed above them

Understanding and Explaining Language and Structure

5)      The phrase ‘...flies shot like rushing stars’ is an example of:

a.       Simile

b.      Metaphor

c.       Personification

d.      Repetition

6)      Identify the adjectives in the sentence “In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch.”

a.       Three, small, square, solid, latch

b.      Small, square, solid, wooden

c.       Small, square, fourth, door

d.      Three, windows, solid, latch

7)      According to Candy, what was the boss feeling and why?

a.       Angry because George and Lennie were late

b.      Sore because of the hard work he had to do

c.       Relieved that the men had arrived

d.      Angry that he had to pay the men

8)      Which quotation is the best example of Steinbeck as a Naturalist writer?

a.       George stepped over and threw his blankets down on the burlap sack of straw that was a mattress.

b.      I have no idea what Naturalism is; I’m just guessing.

c.       The sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars

d.      ‘Says “positively kills lice, roaches, and other scourges. What the hell kind of bed you giving us, anyways.”

9)       Steinbeck uses this description of the light shining into the bunkhouse:

At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.

Four students analysed this sentence. Which is the best example of analysis?

a.       Steinbeck describes the light coming into the bunkhouse, but it still seems like a desperate place that will make the men sad with their lives even though it’s sunny outside. If the men went outside more instead of worrying, they’d be happier.

b.      The sun is shining into the bunkhouse. It comes in through the window, the one with bars on and the flies fly around in it.

c.       The farm is an evil place and only sunlight can make it happier.

d.      The personification of the sun as it ‘threw’ the light into the bunkhouse shows the power of nature. Steinbeck shows that nature can come into the bunkhouse and suggests that there is always beauty in nature even in desperate situations and places.

10)   Why might Steinbeck have chosen to show that each man had similar possessions?

a.       To suggest that the men lived similar lives/lifestyles

b.      To suggest that the men were boring

c.       To suggest that the men were treated badly

d.      To suggest that the men all shopped at the same place

11)   Steinbeck uses the description of the bunkhouse to link to the themes in the novel. What theme does the description link to?

a.       It shows loneliness by showing how little the men had because they have to move around

b.      It shows the importance of dreams because the men have found such a good place

c.       It shows unhappiness because the men have to live with bugs in their beds

d.      It shows that nature is better than man-made things like the bunkhouse

12)   Four students have written about the structure of extract. Select the best answer.

a.      The extract is written in paragraphs with clear sentences so that you can read it easily.

b.      The first paragraph focuses on the setting, which creates a detailed picture. In the second paragraph, Steinbeck then moves to George and Lennie. In the third paragraph, it shows how they react to the bunkhouse so the reader sees how unhappy they are in the environment.

c.       The extract starts off really sad by talking about where they live, but then becomes happier as the reader realises that there is hope for the men. As it builds up, it shows the reader how happy the men are in the bunk house and how pleased they are to be there.

d.      It has start and a middle and an end and carries on throughout the whole book into a long story.

Understanding and Linking the Context

13)   Which of the below is NOT true of itinerant workers?

a.       They would travel around looking for work

b.      They would be likely to paid low wages

c.       They would probably own some farmland

d.      They could lose their jobs easily

14)    Which of the following is true about John Steinbeck?

a.       He owned a farm before becoming a writer

b.      He did some similar work to George and Lennie before becoming a writer

c.       He believed that people who owned farms should be better paid

d.      He had a friend who was just like Lennie

15)   John Steinbeck wrote in his diary – ‘In every bit of honest writing in the world, there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. KNOWING A MAN WELL NEVER LEADS TO HATE and nearly always leads to love.’

What does this diary entry tell us about him and his novels?

a.       He really liked to keep a diary so he could write it up as a book

b.      He thought a lot about people and how they treat each other and liked to record this in his diary

c.       He was really concerned about people understanding each other’s differences; he wanted to teach people about that in his novels so they might be more understanding

d.      He believed that the best way for people to find true understanding was to live on their own and try to talk to as few people as possible, but write about it