I think this is a great tool as each class I have starts at a different level. This gives me a great idea at what pace I need to instruct.
It also provided the unique opportunity for a small group discussion leader or tutor.
I actually had this experience this past week. I gave a pre-test to the class as it was starting. One student scored 100 percent on the test. Upon questioning, the student admitted that they had a doctorate in the subject but was trained in a foreign country. There was absolutely nothing that I could teach this student since a doctorate was already acheived ( I only have masters). What I was able to do was refer the student to student services and also use my connections/knowledge to point the foreign student into coursework that would allow him to work at 3 times the salary while getting the credentials that would allow his doctorate here in the US to have value. This made me feel really good to have helped this student. I would never have known about his education if he had not taken the pretest.
Hi Allan:
Good - When students knowwhat's ahead (by pretesting) they may be more inclined to focus their attention on areas they learn they're weak.
The teacher benefits from learning where adjustments in planned curriculum may need to be tweaked some in order to put more emphasis on certain areas.
Regards, Barry
A pretest can help with instructional planning because it provides a gage of the level of knowledge that you students have when they come into your class. The results of a pretest can help an instructor develop their lessons and make decisions on what content to focus on. Pretest can also provide a base line from which you can measure progress. I intend to use pretests more frequently in the future. -Kathleen Toth
Get a benchmark of the class overall. You can then use that infomation to fill-in gaps, offer a quick review, and know where to go more in-depth.
I think pre-tests help to focus the students on the course and help the instructor to understand the level of knowledge of the students at the start of the course or a particular section. It also introduces students to the subject matter of the course.
Hi Carlos:
Pretests are great for the reason you cited.
I think in general, there is not enough repitition in our classes. Repetition works successfully in other professions - atheletics, musical performance, theatrical - and it can work in education too.
Regards, Barry
Hi Diana:
Yes, pretesting can help make adjustments to our plans. Comparing day 1 performance to last day performance is always an interesig observation for me. It reflects student learning, and my teaching effectiveness.
Regards, Barry
Hi Lakiesha:
Good. If the curriculum is headed one way but the students need more emphasis in another area, a pretest can identify that early on and allow the teacher to make adjustments as needed.
Regards, Barry
Hi Ruth:
Good points. I like to just see where my students are beginning from, then compare that to the end of class as a measure of both their learning and my teaching. Pretesting is a way to give an expanded example of the objectives I'm going to cover.
Regards, Barry
Pretests are a great way to gage where you class is currently and helps you dramatically improve how you should structure your course content.
This allows you to gain an idea about your students' current knowledge.
A pretest allows me to have a plan to teach subject matter in a non traditional way if necessary. Not only cover the material necessary for success, but to present it in a manner that reaches as many learners as possible. It also allow me to better plan presentations that may or may not require in depth explanations or focus on next level of learning. I’ve found that if the pretest is too general, that what they say they know is not necessarily what they do know, so the pretest needs to be specific to the course content.
I have found that giving a pretest will show the instructor the level of understanding of the subject the students have. It will also show the students how much they may or may not know about the topic. It gives them an idea as to what they will really be learning in the class. I have found that when they realize that they don't know as much as they like about it, they try harder in class.
I find that it is becoming a rampant problem that when students leave a term they 'forget' everything they learned because it was in the last term and they are going forward. When I do review they are vague and can't support their conclusions because they have forgotten the application. This is where they fail tests.
Review is essential to their progress and this is where pretests help.
This is an excellent means of assessing students
knowledge base and gives the Instructor an idea of how to best present the material in the future.
Pre-test gives the instructor a good idea as of to where the students stand and should the instructor use another form of method of getting the material across to the students.
Using pretests are helpful if you are looking at skills that are required for the class. If there are not any prerequite skills, they would not be that helpful. If you need some kind of background knowledge an appropriate pretest would be helful to gage that. It can give you a starting point on which to build your class and its presentations.
Hi Linda:
Yes, pretesting, especially if done at the beginning of a class, then compared to the final class, can be revealing, both as to what improvement the student achieved, but also how effective the teachers instruction was.
If students know they won't be graded, they'll lilely enjoy doing a sort of self assessment. You can also do pretesting for credit, as applicable.
Regards, Barry
