5. BENEFITS OF PRETESTING

 

Have you watched the video above? Did you notice how the driving instructor pretested the condition of the car and the driver's readiness before proceeding with the test? Well, this video clearly portrays how beneficial pretesting can be where what is being used as a medium for testing (the car) and the student's (driver) readiness is checked from various angles through the appropriate instructions given by the examiner (the driving instructor).

Well, we have given you clear insights on what pretesting in education is all about. Hence, just like what you observed in the video, it is vital to pretest students before assessing them for the final test. The test paper needs to be checked if it is of good 'quality' and the students' abilities or knowledge needs to be kept as reference in coming up with a solid test paper. 

Therefore, there are several benefits of pretesting as follows:-

A) For the teachers/examiners, they will be able to...

1.  detect the learning gaps that occurs in students.

A learning gap is the difference between what a student has learned—i.e., the academic progress he or she has made—and what the student was expected to learn at a certain point in his or her education (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2013). Pretesting will enable teachers to detect any visible learning gaps in students as if this gap is left unattended to, it may lead students to struggle academically and socially. Teachers can use the results of the pretest and prepare the right methods to close this gap using appropriate instruments in their lessons.

2. determine if the target of the assessment is achieved or not.

When test constructors creates tests,  they will have a target that is to achieve from the assessment that is to be carried out. Hence, pretesting will enable teachers to determine if their instructions or test contents have actually brought out their students' maximum potential according to their learning levels. Hence, from the pretest results analysis, teachers can gain the data to be clear if their target has been achieved or not as well as its contributing factors to its success or failure to do so.

3. ensure the instructions to be more individualized.

Individualized instruction is instruction that considers the needs of the students (A Hypertext History of Instructional Design). Ideally, the students would control the pace at which they progress through instruction and the materials they use would be suited to their cognitive skills and learning styles (Gagne et al., 1992). Thus, pretesting will enable teachers to know to what level does their instruction caters to the students' individual needs in performing well.

4. make appropriate changes in their teaching methodology.

 

Through the results of a pretest, teachers will be able to make appropriate changes to the teaching methodologies. There is a possibility that students poor performance in a test may be due to their inability to connect with what is being taught in the classroom. Thus, teachers use pretests to detect which part of their teaching that students find it hard to cope with and see to it that they can coach from a different angle to stimulate their interest towards topics their are not good in.

B) For the students, they will be able to have a preview of the final test. This is where they can recognize their strengths and areas that need improvements. Thus, pretesting will ensure that students know their level of progression within their classroom learning and will make efforts to do better in the final test.