Ruby,
Perhaps a pretest at the beginning of the course would not be a good idea. One way you might use pretesting is as a review before an exam. I know some instructors don't like this practice, but I say if we want our students to learn, and a brief pretest beforehand helps them prepare and they do better as a result, then I'm willing to do it. Of course, each has to decide what works best for them.
Barry Westling
