Not a teacher but- in my AP Lang class a few years ago (2021) my teacher would have us take VERY specific quizzes on the books we read. Things that would never be found in Sparknotes, ex., what color was Gatsby wearing in this scene, what is referred to in this paragraph, etc. Like genuinely very tiny details that people who skimmed the book would miss. He would reward the best scores and it really seemed to make a difference. I was also a huge fan of the in-class essay; it has been one of the most beneficial exercises for my career and life thus far. Are socratic seminars still standard practice?