Get Your Students Hired
I work in a career and technical school so pretesting is a big part of what i do. I do a basic pretest on the 1st day of class to asses my students areas that need improvement. Everything that i teach builds on the previous course, so i try to show my students different techniques to accompolishing tasks. The pretest also shows me the students that may need a little more coaching or mentoring.
We use pre-testing to enter some of the programs in our institution. We require strong math and science understanding in the courses I am teaching. It is helpful knowing right from the beginning who might need extra attention or tutoring, instead of getting part way through a term and having them be so frustrated and behind that they want to drop.
Andrea,
Right. And the biggest boost a pretest provides is tro the instructor, who can increase trheir effectiveness by being able to focus their attention where emphasis is needed.
Barry Westling
Pretests allow you to tailor your curriculum to the classroom based on the census of the exam. They allow you to concentrate on particular subjects that the students may be a little weaker in.
Nashon,
A pretest can zero in where to focus for most important emphasis.
Barry Westling
Dan,
An important bookmark for instructors who need to realize every class is different and therefore, assessing where a new class performance is at is truly essential.
Barry Westling
Pretests are almost mandatory for my classes. One group of students will be "rock-stars" and the next will be absolute "newbies". The former will be bored to death unless challenged, and the latter can be frustrated if not presented with foundational lessons at the beginning.
Roy,
Great. I don't always pretest but when I do, I am able to zero in on what areas need most emphasis.
Barry Westling
Melissa,
You've identified the main reasons for pretesting, and these result in better student outcomes by avoiding using valuable time on material that doesn't quite hit the mark.
Barry Westling
I find that pretesting alows me to design my lectures to fit the needs of the majority of my students.
Pretests help you as a in instructor because they let you know the areas of strength and weakness of class as a whole and each student. For planning purposes it let you determine the types of activities that would be best for learning, the amount of time and effort needed on different areas of instruction, the additional support that may be required, and how to plan the remainder the course.
Pretests I believe are critical to truly understanding where your students are. In order to keep students focused and challenged you need to make sure you aren't spending lots of time on items that they know and may bore them. Likewise you don't want to be teaching items at to high of a level if the students haven't had a proper foundation built.
Mihaela,
Great. Instruction runs so much smoother when we have a good sense where our students are at academically or where their prior learning level is. Knowing this, we can tailor our emphasis where we can be the most effective.
Barry Westling
We use pretesting of theory and practical skills before accepting a transfer student. It is important to have an objective assessment of their background knowledge before placing them in a certain class.
Kelly,
Yeah, I find adult learners like to know what's expected and a pretests can help give them a preview of what's to come, and sometimes a pretest can help a student prepare for an area of study they recognize they are weak in. But mostly, these help the instructor plan their lessons to put the emphasis where it can do the most good.
Barry Westling
Administering a pre-test can really help to evaluate what to omit from course content, or what needs to be taught prior to teaching advanced level material.
Teaching in a career oriented, adult learning, situation it is important to understand the differing levels of knowledge that students have, or do not have. By administering the pre-test lectures can be adjusted and supplemental information can be supplied in order to provide students with foundational knowledge.
Vickie,
Great ideas to add to the variety of methods to use pretesting as a tool for better student outcomes.
Barry Westling
Pretest are very helpful for students to have a test, they will get to know your testing style. Ex short answer, true/false. It helps me the instructor know who in my class has prior knowledge in the subject and who do not. I can use students with prior knowledge in group activities in the class for future activities. I will always cover the material as a refresher to make sure everyone in on the same page but know that I don't have to spend a great deal of time on it.
Michele,
I don't think there is a precribed "right way" to use pretests. Most often, I'll put together a brief test that covers the main objectives of my course. Collectively, if most students perform well on one category, that suggests I might not have to spend as much time with that area. As a motivator, I have had students retake the pretest at the end of the course. The benefit is to show how far students have come in their learning. So, any way you want to configure it, it'll ultimately benefit your students.
Barry Westling