Choosing a Folktale Version for Adult Literacy
An adult literacy class of 12 learners will take a 30-item reading-comprehension test based on a 300-word Skolt Sámi folktale. Two printed versions exist. Version A, from a 1970s primer, uses older orthography and more Finnish loanwords; Version B, from a 2010s reader, uses current orthography and shorter sentences but has one regional word for wolf that means a different animal for learners from Nellim. The teacher has 90 minutes and wants to assess comprehension, not orthographic decoding. The publisher will print only one version. In the draft test, question 7 asks, 'What did the wolf do?' but the wolf's action is conveyed by a simile, not a direct statement. Question 11 asks why a character left home, but the text gives no motive. You must choose a version and decide what to do with the two questions.
1. Which version should you choose, and what does that choice do to construct validity?
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Choose Version B for a comprehension test, because current orthography and shorter sentences reduce construct-irrelevant decoding load. Version A would add old orthography and Finnish loanwords as unintended obstacles, so a low score would not mean low comprehension. But the choice is conditional: if the regional word for wolf is central and genuinely means a different animal for Nellim learners, Version B introduces a cultural and lexical bias. The defensible procedure is to pilot B with local speakers, gloss or replace that word, and then use B. If the publisher refuses edits, Version A may be fairer only if the class has been taught the older orthography.
2. How should you handle the regional word for wolf?
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Do not treat the Nellim meaning as a wrong answer. Either gloss the word neutrally in the test ('in this story, the word refers to the animal the story describes') or replace it with a neutral term agreed by speakers from both communities. Avoid making that word the key to a comprehension item. If the story depends on the regional meaning, consult elders and add a note; do not silently impose one community's usage. The aim is to test comprehension of the plot, not lexical allegiance.
3. Revise questions 7 and 11 so they test inference with textual support, or delete them.
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Q7: rewrite as 'Which phrase describes what the wolf did? Explain what the simile suggests.' Accept an answer that identifies the simile and paraphrases its effect, with textual support. Q11: if the text gives no motive, delete it or rewrite as 'What does the text tell us about why the character left, and what remains unstated?' That tests inference and awareness of narrative gaps. Do not ask students to invent a motive and then mark it wrong; that tests guessing, not reading.