Which statement best describes how literacy should be considered in assessment planning?

• A. Focus only on numeric answers.
• B. Use only recall-based questions.
• C. Include prompts that require explanation, justification, and evidence across disciplines.
• D. Avoid text-based sources.

Answer: (C)

Literacy in assessment planning means weaving reading, writing, and argumentation into every subject’s tasks so students demonstrate understanding through how they interpret information, explain their thinking, and support their conclusions with evidence. The best choice emphasizes prompts that require explanation, justification, and evidence across disciplines, because this shows not just what students know, but how they think and communicate in disciplinary contexts. Such prompts reveal students’ ability to read complex texts, analyze data, reason logically, and articulate coherent arguments rooted in evidence, across science, humanities, and other areas. That deeper engagement with literacy leads to assessments that truly reflect students’ abilities to use language and reasoning to make sense of disciplinary ideas. In contrast, focusing only on numeric answers or recall-based questions misses these literacy demonstrations, and avoiding text-based sources prevents students from practicing authentic disciplinary reading and writing.