Amy,
Super. While most tests are designed to assess the student, pretesting is mostly for the benefit of the instructor, to determine how best to structure their classes in order vto meet the majority of students. It's sort of a version of 'meet them where they're at". Instructors that pretest are better able to zero in to focus their energies on their specific student needs for these students, at this time, in this class, with these skills and prior learning.
Barry Westling
