LITERATURE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF ASSESSMENT: EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION OF CHILD SUFFERING IN AMMA DARKO'S FACELESS

This study explores the intersection of literature and educational measurement by examining Amma Darko’s Faceless as a text that not only represents child suffering but also functions as a tool for assessing learners’ moral and social awareness. The novel, which dramatizes the experiences of Fofo and Baby T as street children in Accra, highlights the broader realities of neglect, poverty, and exploitation faced by African children. While literary criticism typically engages with thematic interpretation, this research extends the discourse by demonstrating how Faceless can be deployed in educational contexts as an evaluative instrument. Anchored on Reader-Response Theory and Educational Measurement Theory, the study situates readers’ interpretations as critical data for measuring empathy, moral judgment, and critical consciousness. The methodology adopted a dual approach: a textual analysis of Faceless to identify themes of child suffering, and a survey of 80 literature teachers from St. Patrick’s, Godfrey Okoye University Secondary School, and Kings College, Enugu. A structured questionnaire, analyzed using mean scores with a 2.5 cut-off benchmark, was employed to evaluate teachers’ perspectives on the feasibility of literature as an assessment tool. The findings reveal that child suffering in Faceless is not only vividly represented but also resonates with learners in ways that can be systematically measured. Teachers affirmed the possibility of designing frameworks that convert literary themes into evaluative instruments for classroom assessment. The study concludes that literature, particularly African novels like Faceless, transcends its aesthetic value to become a vehicle for testing empathy, moral consciousness, and social responsibility in education. Recommendations include the integration of literary texts into holistic assessment models, teacher training on measurement frameworks rooted in literature, and policy support for interdisciplinary pedagogy. Ultimately, this research demonstrates the measurable power of literature in shaping values and advancing educational objectives.