How Literature is being Assessed?

The assessment of Literature in First Toa Payoh Secondary takes place throughout the year. However, what is used for assessment is not fixed, with the exception of a term test every term, common tests in terms 1 and 3 and the SA in terms 2 and 4. These continual assessments contributes towards students’ CA scores every term, where apart from the use of scores from term tests, teachers can also use homework (essay, short answer questions), pop quizzes, classwork, projects to grade students and chart their progress.

In term 2, the assessment consists of a term test (taken in week 3/4/5), several pieces of homework, classwork and pop quizzes. While the term test will take a fixed percentage in the CA score, the other forms of assessment and the percentages allocated for each assessment is not fixed.

Based on what I understand, the teacher is expected to grade the work that is given to students and, collect the grades for the given work. Then, at the end of the term, she will select some of these grades to be computerized into the students' CA score. It is also not necessary that students are informed in advance that the grade from a given piece of work will be counted towards their CA grade. I suppose that this is a relatively good practice because it means that students will have to take every piece of work that they do seriously, instead of doing it for the sake of getting a good grade and, forsaking the other pieces of work.