Differentiation Strategies: Pre-Testing
You're implementing interest-based differentiation and offering students choices in different subject areas and assignments. Now you want to implement readiness-based differentiation, which addresses the fact that some students are academically ready for more advanced work, while others need more support to attain mastery of target learning objectives.
It is important to understand that individual students have different academic strength areas and levels of readiness. The student who is a strong writer may need more support with math. The strong math student might need more support with fractions than with division. These kinds of differences always exist, but student readiness is constantly changing. This brings us to the most crucial tool for differentiating instruction.
It is important to understand that individual students have different academic strength areas and levels of readiness. The student who is a strong writer may need more support with math. The strong math student might need more support with fractions than with division. These kinds of differences always exist, but student readiness is constantly changing. This brings us to the most crucial tool for differentiating instruction.
Pre-Testing
Before you go any further, do they know this?
You cannot implement readiness-based differentiation unless you determine what your students already know.
You cannot determine what your students already know unless you attempt to measure it.
You cannot measure what the students know without having clear learning objectives.
If this sounds like a major detour that you don't have time to deal with, I understand that it's overwhelming. However, pre-testing is imperative for effective instruction. There are no shortcuts for this.
You cannot implement readiness-based differentiation unless you determine what your students already know.
You cannot determine what your students already know unless you attempt to measure it.
You cannot measure what the students know without having clear learning objectives.
If this sounds like a major detour that you don't have time to deal with, I understand that it's overwhelming. However, pre-testing is imperative for effective instruction. There are no shortcuts for this.
All About Pre-Testing
When your students first entered your class, some of them walked in knowing a lot of the content you are planning to teach. Others walked in without mastering more basic skills they need before they can learn what you're planning to teach. Other students are at readiness levels somewhere in between. All students fluctuate with regard to academic readiness, depending on the subject area and specific target objectives and whatever is going on in their personal lives. A brilliant student may have gaps or holes in understanding. A student who struggles with most subjects may have a confident background with a specific topic. These differences in academic readiness exist, and we do a disservice to our students if we ignore these differences.
Some people are uncomfortable about the idea of grouping students according to mastery. They worry that students will be permanently stuck in one group without hope of academic advancement. Pre-testing solves that problem, because it allows you to establish flexible grouping. Groups of students change according to demonstrated mastery of specific skills and content.
Some people are uncomfortable about the idea of grouping students according to mastery. They worry that students will be permanently stuck in one group without hope of academic advancement. Pre-testing solves that problem, because it allows you to establish flexible grouping. Groups of students change according to demonstrated mastery of specific skills and content.
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For example, if you want students to generate supporting evidence for claims or opinions about texts, you pre-test to determine which students have already mastered that skill, which students need more practice, and which students need considerable support. You use that information to provide different kinds of instruction to each group of students about the same topic. When you move on to the next skill, you administer a new pre-test, and your instructional groups will be arranged differently, according to the results of the new pre-test.
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It's true that sometimes a student who needs extra support with one unit will also need support with the next, so sometimes students will fall into consecutive groups where they need additional assistance to master skills and concepts. However, you will be able to offer that support, since a thoughtfully constructed pre-test will show you each student's misconceptions and gaps in understanding, in addition to proving that a student has successfully mastered a skill.
Types of Pre-Tests
The purpose of pre-testing is to give the teacher a sense of what the students already know, and to indicate specific areas of confusion or misconceptions. Pre-tests should be short, and they can take a variety of forms, provided they give the teacher a clear picture about each student's level of readiness. Here are some types of pre-tests:
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Short Performance Task
The teacher observes the student's performance without interference, and looks for specific behaviors during the observation
Example: Objective - Students will perform efficient Internet searches Pre-Test - Find the name and address of a local museum you would like to visit |
Short Quiz - Paper/Pencil or Computer-Based
Include about 5-8 items or two questions asking for written responses
Example: Objective - Students will add two-digit numbers Pre-Test - 2 items are problems written horizontally without regrouping 2 problems are written vertically without regrouping 2 problems are written vertically and require re-grouping |
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Informal Discussion or Check-In
Teachers can do this during individual student conferences or with small groups
Example: Objective - Students will make inferences about characters Pre-Test - Students meet with the teacher in groups of 2-3; each student reads a different paragraph about a character taking action, but the paragraphs do not explicitly describe what kind of person the character is. Students are asked to describe what kind of person each character is, based on the reading. |
Whole Group Question, Individual Responses
Students respond by posting sticky notes in a designated place on a wall, adding to a digital word cloud, or turning in responses as a "ticket out the door"
Example: Objective - Students will describe the functions of common community services Pre-Test - The teacher asks each student to name a building found in the community and explain what kind of work the people in that building do. The teacher collects the student tickets, which discuss police stations, banks, schools, and hospitals. This helps the teacher get a general overview about class knowledge (like the K in KWL) in order to focus instruction on community services that are less familiar to students. |
Constructing a Pre-Test
In order to collect the most effective information about student readiness, the teacher has to have very clear learning objectives in mind. Before she can create a pre-test, the teacher must have a clear answer to the question "What do I want my students to be able to know and do at the end of this unit?"
If the objectives are too broad, there may never be enough time in the world, much less in the unit, for students to demonstrate mastery, so pre-testing can actually help teachers focus on the most critical learning activities.
When teachers anticipate misconceptions and pre-test for those issues, it can make instruction infinitely more efficient. For example, when students learn to calculate change, it is common for them to give answers that are one dollar higher than they should be, because the student forgets that the cents account for part of the total ($5.00 - $3.50 = $2.50, because 3 + 2 = 5). If the pre-test anticipates this error, it can help teachers determine who can make change in a variety of situations, and who can make change with even dollar amounts but not with cents.
If the objectives are too broad, there may never be enough time in the world, much less in the unit, for students to demonstrate mastery, so pre-testing can actually help teachers focus on the most critical learning activities.
When teachers anticipate misconceptions and pre-test for those issues, it can make instruction infinitely more efficient. For example, when students learn to calculate change, it is common for them to give answers that are one dollar higher than they should be, because the student forgets that the cents account for part of the total ($5.00 - $3.50 = $2.50, because 3 + 2 = 5). If the pre-test anticipates this error, it can help teachers determine who can make change in a variety of situations, and who can make change with even dollar amounts but not with cents.
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It is essential that the pre-test is able to measure the target objective.
This might sound obvious, but many teachers rely on paper/pencil tests to assess student mastery. If you are measuring a student's knowledge of measurement, public speaking, or impressionism with a paper/pencil test, you may be testing the student's ability to read and write instead, which could interfere with a student's ability to prove what he knows about measurement, public speaking, or impressionism. Performance assessments may be more cumbersome to conduct, but they will yield much more useful results for some skills and concepts. With practice, teachers can conduct performance assessments efficiently, and there's no need to take home a stack of quizzes to grade, either. If a student takes a test and fails to answer any questions correctly, it doesn't necessarily mean that the student doesn't know anything about the subject. It's important that teachers ask the right questions and construct pre-tests thoughtfully to collect useful data. You can refine your pre-tests from year to year and re-use them, but it's a good idea to ask a colleague to try a new pre-test in order to detect any potential confusion or errors before the students take the test. |
After the Instruction
The pre-test provides a good baseline sense of what the students knew before the instruction. Offering a similar post-test--one that uses the same format, but slightly different content--allows you to measure how effective the learning activities in this unit helped each student master the target objectives. For example, if your pre-test involved multiplying two and three digit numbers, your post test could use the same format with different numbers. If your pre-test asked students to give a two-minute persuasive speech on one topic, the post-test could be a two-minute speech on a different topic (or set of topic options).
Additionally, all of the learning activities you select during the unit should support student mastery of the target objective. This focus helps teachers select the most valuable activities and experiences, order them logically, and ideally, connect them to other academic disciplines.
Additionally, all of the learning activities you select during the unit should support student mastery of the target objective. This focus helps teachers select the most valuable activities and experiences, order them logically, and ideally, connect them to other academic disciplines.
A Note About Students with Intense Frustration or Perfectionism
Some students are not familiar with the skills and content in an upcoming unit of instruction, and you may have anecdotal evidence to verify this. Although it is better to pre-test every student, you may have students who will become highly frustrated by pre-tests full of content that is new to them. Pre-tests should be short (no more than 15 minutes per student), but there may be some occasions with some students on particular days when it is better not to give them a pre-test. It is critical that teachers do not constantly make assumptions about the ability or knowledge of their students for each unit, but for highly intense students who will not be able to work productively for several hours after a frustrating episode, it may be best to avoid a pre-test with brand-new content.
Similarly, it will be critical for high-achieving students with perfectionist tendencies to understand that you do not expect them to know every answer on a pre-test, and that this is material you have not taught them yet. Some students need multiple reassurances that the pre-test is not an opportunity for you to grade them; it's an opportunity for you to plan the best possible instruction, based on what they already know or need to know.
Similarly, it will be critical for high-achieving students with perfectionist tendencies to understand that you do not expect them to know every answer on a pre-test, and that this is material you have not taught them yet. Some students need multiple reassurances that the pre-test is not an opportunity for you to grade them; it's an opportunity for you to plan the best possible instruction, based on what they already know or need to know.