Pretesting Students Helps.

 

If you notice, just about every math program includes some sort of pre and post test for each chapter.  Unfortunately, not all of us use them because we are trying to cover a certain amount of material in the time we have with the students.  I know that in the past, I've skipped them because the district expected me to cover the material to match the suggested pacing guide.  I never kept on track.  I came across an article where someone took time to study the effect both pretesting and post testing have on student learning.  The results were surprising. 

To summarize, those students who participated in both the pretest and post test did so much better than those who did neither. What surprised me is that those who participated in the pretest did the best on subsequent tests.  So participating in a pretest has more effect than those to did post tests after learning the material. 

It appears that when students take a pretest prior to the lesson or activity it results in less mind wandering and they did better when they took the test on the material. Unfortunately, most teachers use a pretest only as an assessment tool rather than an opportunity for students to learn. Since it can be used as a learning tool, it is best to use either low testing or no stakes testing.  In addition, it is a good way to introduce the topic. The pretest can be either digital in Google forms, Quizzes, or other site, or it can be paper and pen, or even posted as a question on the board for students to provide a written answer. 

To keep student stress levels down concerning pretests, stress these are nothing to worry about. Let them know they don't need to worry about failing it or even being able to answer all the questions because they will learn more about it in the upcoming lessons.  Although it is often felt that testing does not teach students, when students test, they are recalling information and trying to formulate an answer which influences learning.

In addition to teachers often using pretests as one of the assessments, students can also use it to see what they know and it allows their mind to process things so when the material is actually taught, they have that "aha" moment and they can see their knowledge is growing. In addition, when the material is presented, they will remember the problems they saw in the pretest.  In fact, one can use problems from the pretest as bell ringers and ask students to explain how they solved it or how did they know the answer was correct?  

As far as using pretests as assessment, the information from the pretests can also be used to show the teacher is meeting the needs of all the students. The data from both pretests and post tests can be used to show student growth to the administration, even for the students who struggle. In addition, this same data can be used to show parents their students have made progress in the class.  The data can also be used to plan differentiated instruction and assignments for students so their gaps are filled in and students who need additional challenges will receive what they need.

Furthermore, the data from pretesting allows for better pacing because the teacher can go through the parts of the course they already know and slow down as needed. The information can also help identify any misconceptions students have such as when adding two fractions with different denominations, they cannot just add the numerators and denominators.  Instead, they need to rewrite equations so they have the same denominator.  

So keep in mind that pretests can be used both as a learning tool and an assessment.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great weekend.