Pre-post testing - American Education

The administration of standardized examinations scored on the basis of a GRADE-EQUIVALENT SCALE before and after a particular course of study. A standard procedure in many public schools, pre-post testing not only helps evaluate student progress, it also serves as an effective method of assessing the curriculum and teaching quality of a class. Thus, if a third grade class begins the year with an appropriate 3.0 grade-equivalent score and ends the school year with only a 3.6 gradeequivalent score, all elements of the class would warrant an immediate assessment. The students might indeed be slow learners, but it is just as possible that they received poor instruction or that the curriculum was inadequate and did not cover enough materials to prepare them to enter fourth grade with a more appropriate 4.0 grade-equivalent score. Pre-post testing is also used to evaluate special education and remedial programs to measure the effects of such intervention.