tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088860151651047897.post5169082790100534283..comments2024-03-25T10:56:59.380-04:00Comments on Jacobs Physics: Mail Time: Pretests and the level of physics you teachGreg Jacobshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854009948036330746noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088860151651047897.post-42734999273519963432010-11-05T11:36:39.275-04:002010-11-05T11:36:39.275-04:00But, the pretest is useful, because it sometimes u...But, the pretest is useful, because it sometimes uncovers areas of misconception that you hadn't anticipated. My students sometimes come in having taken 9th grade Physical Science, and sometimes not. Their level of readiness to proceed is therefore different.<br /><br />Also, it can be a point of pride for the students to reflect after the post-test just how much they had learned.Linda Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024201252345608291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088860151651047897.post-33903257159833490562010-08-25T01:26:57.595-04:002010-08-25T01:26:57.595-04:00Thanks for the reply. I've actually convinced ...Thanks for the reply. I've actually convinced the science department not to pretest for precisely the reasons given. Mainly, the students don't come in knowing any of what we're teaching so really it ends up being a discouraging fail-fest. <br /><br />It's worth it to separate pretests from diagnostic tests. I think of pretests as the beginning of the unit "preview" types of things. Those I haven't yet to be found useful. <br /><br />On the other hand, our math teachers really like the beginning of the year diagnostic tests so they can focus on what to review. They tell me the results seem to vary (especially because our math department has such high turnover) so it helps them focus on a few key skills to review before they can get on to new content. <br /><br />For middle school science? It's fair to say most of us are blank slate teachers and start off assuming zero prior knowledge. In California our content sequences don't vertically align so the previous year's content is completely divorced from the current year. Glaring math deficiencies tend to get taught as needed. I can't think of any reason to give a diagnostic like a math teacher would.<br /><br />Thanks again for the reply.Jason Buellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03029995715142652159noreply@blogger.com