Pre and Post Tests | Are they Beneficial in the Classroom? (2024)

Often when the word ‘test’ is mentioned to anyone these days, our brains automatically go to NAPLAN and no doubt, as teachers, our hands become sweaty and we may start to panic, just a little. But, pre and post tests are an effective tool that can be used in the classroom to help teachers monitor and measure the learning of their students. They are beneficial to the students and the teacher.

Pre and Post Tests | Are they Beneficial in the Classroom? (1)

What are Pre and Post Tests?

Pre and post tests are designed to measure your students’ growth in knowledge of a particular topic. Our Maths Pre and Post tests, for example, cover every strand within the Australian curriculum. Pre and posts tests not only assist in measuring how your students have improved, but they can also be a valuable diagnostic tool for more effective teaching as well!

So, what would this look like in the classroom?

If, for example, you are a Year 1 teacher and your term planner has you covering number, place value and chance. You would head to the Chance Pre and Post Tests – Year 1 and Number and Place Value Pre and Post Tests – Year 1 and have your students complete the (A) version of the topics you will be covering. When I administered these tests in the classroom, I would always make my students aware that the first test is to work our what they already know.

As long as they have a go I wasn’t worried about the results of this test. For students that struggled with these sorts of environments, I would organise a Teacher Aide to sit with them in a small group out of the classroom to ascertain what they know through questions and hands-on activities.

This initial testing will assist you in understanding the students’ weaknesses and the students who may need an extra challenge when these topics are covered in class. Once you have explicitlytaught these topics. The students then complete the (B) version of these tests to identify growth.

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What are the Benefits of Pre and Post Tests?

As outlined in our blog, 6 Reasons Why Testing is Beneficialthe main benefits of pre and post tests include:

  • Helps identify pre-existing knowledge.
  • The data can assist teachers when establishing same ability groups for small group work.
  • Can help guide lesson content and delivery.
  • Helps with the ever increasing pressure to collect data on the learning journey of your students.
  • Assists when providing feedback to students and their parents.
  • Helps with goal setting in the classroom.

Check out our collection of Australian Curriculum Aligned Pre and Post Tests.

Collecting the Data from Pre and Post Tests

So you have printed out our pre and posts tests, your students have completed the (A) test for Number Patterns… now what?

It is important that you record the scores that your students achieve. The whole point of the pre and post test is not only to guide the lesson content and deliverybut also to track your students’ progression and hopefully their growth!

Pre and Post Tests | Are they Beneficial in the Classroom? (3)

Utilising one of our editable class lists as a data tracker to be kept with all of the pre and post tets is a good place to start.

Printable Pre and Post Tests

Check out our full collection of pre and post tests for all year levels covering every code in the Australian curriculum.

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Pre and Post Tests | Are they Beneficial in the Classroom? (2024)

FAQs

Pre and Post Tests | Are they Beneficial in the Classroom? ›

Pre-post testing is valuable to teachers because it allows for real-time progress monitoring. Because multiple post-tests can be administered throughout a student's enrollment, educational gains can be monitored and instruction can be adjusted appropriately.

What are the benefits of pre and post assessments? ›

They can help to hold students accountable for their learning, determine what they have learned, and identify what still might be causing some confusion. Administering the quizzes as pre- and post-assessments creates additional opportunities for learning too.

What are the advantages of pre and post test? ›

Pre and posts tests not only assist in measuring how your students have improved, but they can also be a valuable diagnostic tool for more effective teaching as well!

What is the purpose of pre and post test in training? ›

A pre- and post- test to evaluate participants knowledge, attitude and skills before and after the training. A daily evaluation to understand the participant's level of knowledge retention, and any challenges or gaps in the training at the end of each day.

What are the benefits of pre-testing? ›

Pre-testing increases student attention (both in and out of lesson) Pre-testing may also activate your students' existing knowledge by drawing their attention to what they should remember from a lesson.

Why pre-assessment is important in the classroom? ›

What it is: Pre-assessment provides a way for teachers to gather key information about what students know and are able to do prior to instruction, as well as what student interests and learning styles are. Pre-assessments can be paper and pencil tasks or performance-based.

What is the purpose of post tests? ›

Post-test or Post-assessment

Term(s) used to define the measures (data from question(s) or data collection) AFTER educational content is presented. Post-tests can measure resultant knowledge, competence, present or anticipated behavior, experienced or observed health outcome, or other topics.

What are the benefits of post test only? ›

Post-Test Only Control Group Design

For example, it eliminates the threat to internal validity of pre-testing by eliminating the pre-test. It may also decrease the problem of experimental mortality by shortening the length of the study (no pre-test).

Why is pretest posttest important? ›

Pre- and post-tests are used to measure knowledge gained from participating in a training course. Active learning strategies include students are engaged in activities (e.g., reading, discussing, and writing) i.e., involved in more than passive listening, greater emphasis placed on developing student skills.

What is the value of pre assessment? ›

Pre-assessments give our students a preview of what will be expected of them. Setting clear expectations helps students begin to focus on the key topics that will be covered throughout the lesson. This also gives our students the opportunity to set educational goals for the coming weeks.

What is pre testing and post testing and the importance of same? ›

Both pretesting and posttesting have been shown to enhance memory and yield pedagogical benefits. They can be effective in different test formats, study-test intervals, and material types. Overall, pretests and posttests are valuable tools for promoting learning and improving student achievement.

What is pre and post testing method? ›

The pre-test is a set of questions given to partici- pants before the training begins in order to deter- mine their knowledge level of the course content. After the completion of the course, participants are given a post-test to answer the same set of ques- tions, or a set of questions of comparable difficulty.

What is post-test in teaching? ›

A post-test is a test given to training participants after the instruction is presented or completed. Using pre-testing and post-testing can show the percentage of knowledge gained.

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