Description
This resource includes a comprehensive Poetry Assessment designed for high school ELA students in grades 9–12. You’ll receive a printable PDF version for immediate classroom use, an editable Word document for easy customization, and a detailed answer key to streamline grading and review.
The assessment is structured to evaluate both poetry knowledge and analytical reading skills through a variety of question types. Students demonstrate understanding of literary terminology, sound devices, figurative language, and close reading while engaging with classic poetic texts.
The test includes fill-in-the-blank questions with a word bank, matching questions focused on poem types, sound devices, and figurative language, and a poetry analysis of two canonical works: “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne. Students answer multiple-choice questions for each poem to assess comprehension and interpretation, then complete a constructed response in which they compare the themes of both poems in a minimum of two fully developed paragraphs. In total, the assessment includes 41 questions, including the written response.
This poetry test covers a broad range of essential literary terms, including rhythm, mood, theme, poem, tone, speaker, allusion, symbol, imagery, rhyme, narrative poem, lyrical poem, free verse, sonnet, villanelle, ballad, ode, elegy, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, idiom, simile, metaphor, paradox, and oxymoron. These concepts align well with high school poetry standards and prepare students for advanced literary analysis.
Perfect for unit exams, benchmarks, test prep, or summative assessments, this high school poetry test offers rigor, flexibility, and clarity while giving teachers everything they need to assess poetry skills with confidence.