When it comes to student learning and growth, using a pretest and posttest in education can have a strong, positive impact on students retaining knowledge and succeeding.
Pop quiz!
What’s the average time each year that students spend taking standardized tests?
a. 10–15 hours
b. 20–25 hours
c. 40–45 hours
If you answered b, you’re right. And that’s a lot of hours.
Testing just to test is a waste of time for teachers and students—not to say that all standardized testing is bad. But it does have a time and place. However, when the students can see the purpose behind the test, the better the results will be.
What are pretests and posttests?
Before diving into why pretests and posttests matter in education, it’s important to gain a basic understanding of what these tests are and how they differ.
Pretests
Put simply, pretests are non-graded assessments where a teacher determines each student’s knowledge of and proficiency in the subject matter.
When used at the beginning of the course, pretests give teachers a way to gauge student knowledge, prepare students for future content and, in the end, measure student growth.
Pretests also serve as a way for educators to understand where gaps in learning may have formed during breaks from school—making that first of the semester test more vital.
Posttests
Unlike pretests, posttests are graded assessments.
Posttests show whether a student gained the knowledge required to successfully complete the course. And they reveal how much each student’s knowledge grew and how much students improved during the course.
Some posttests give students the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications that validate the knowledge and skills they gained in the course. Students can then use that certification to join the workforce or skip entry-level college courses.
Why do pre and posttests matter?
When used together, these assessments are a powerful tool for educators and students alike. Particularly for Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses where students are developing skills and knowledge to meet industry and employer needs. Here are five reasons pretests and posttests in education matter.
1. Pretests outline clear standards and expectations.
With pretests, students are empowered by clearly defined classroom and learning expectations.
In a research guide on testing published by Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching, one cited study suggests that “pretesting students’ knowledge of a subject may prime them for learning.” In other words, pretesting makes students more aware of the types of questions they need to answer and the key concepts and facts they should pay attention to during the course.
For educators, pretests help build structure using knowledge standards—or the learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each level—to support meaningful learning experiences in the classroom and beyond.
2. Pretests establish a baseline of student knowledge.
What student wants to pay attention in class when they already know the subject matter at hand?
Think back to the hit sitcom Parks and Recreation. When Andy Dwyer decides to sample college classes, he chooses to sit in on a beginner’s guitar class thinking he can get an easy passing grade because he’s already an accomplished guitarist. But, after hearing the class would spend four weeks on basic chords, he groaned about being bored already.
To which, Ron Swanson responded, “Of course you are, you’re not challenging yourself.”
Students want to be challenged.
And pretests help create that challenge by showing educators where to focus their teaching based on the knowledge their students already have. Using data from their students’ test scores, they know where to spend time reviewing concepts, where to cover material more in-depth and where problem areas might arise.
3. Pretests and posttests measure student growth.
Pretests establish what students need to learn; posttests show what they have learned.
By establishing a baseline with a pretest, educators can better track and measure student growth in each of the knowledge standards.
While not all students will show mastery by the end of a course, pretests show students their personal growth too. And that builds their confidence and motivation to succeed. As Moises Venegas, a student who attended a Customer Service Boot Camp by Virtual School in Riverside, California, said:
“Coming to this was something new, so I didn’t really know what to expect. As I was taking [the pretest], I was like ‘I don’t know a lot about this.’ I ended up failing. I got a 58, but I didn’t let it affect me because I knew that’s what I was here for—to improve. By the end, I did improve. I did end up passing.”
4. Pretest and posttest data improve curriculum efficacy.
Data-driven decisions are important in education. And pre- and posttests are an excellent way for educators to gather that data to improve instruction and, ultimately, benefit future students.
While pretests help educators tailor curriculum on the front-end, posttests help educators see where changes need to be made to improve students’ ability to comprehend and retain the material in the future. And comparing pre- and posttest scores lets educators drill down into specific areas of improvement.
Take the story of Tami Grow, a middle school teacher in the Alpine School District in Utah. She increased her final assessment passing score from 50% to 78% in two years. How? By using the test scores from her students’ pre/posttests to make data-driven decisions on how to structure her curriculum.
