As there are a number of methods that can be used; I like the idea of pretest. This method gives you a general idea of the student’s current knowledge in the subject matter. I realize that some students do not test well or may be reluctant therefore resulting in a poor result. In this case I think it would be advantages to communicate to the class that this is clearly assessment and grades will not be recorded. Overall, I feel there is no one-size fit all type of evaluation method and it will take a combination of methods to yield the best result. You will find that what fits in one session may have a different outcome in the following session. As an instructor you have to find the baseline for each class and proceed.