WebXam, the online testing portal maintained by the CETE Assessment Services Team, launches two one-month-long pretesting windows. During the second window, which occurred this January, CTE educators had the option to administer course pretests to their students as part of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES). These tests, under Category B use in OTES, support evaluation of teacher effectiveness in terms of gain from pretests to post-tests. Under Category C (local usage) pretests can be utilized with Student Learning Objectives or SLO to tailor courses more closely to standards and competencies that guide those objectives and to demonstrate gain.

During the 2018-19 winter pretesting window from January to February, WebXam once again delivered the highest number of pretests given in this window since inception in 2014. A total of 8,860 pretests were given to 6,888 students. This is an average of 1.3 test per student. Comparing the pretesting totals from last year (48,609) to this year’s numbers (57,423) indicates a 15% increase.

The top five courses for pretests taken in the fall window are as follows:

Why it Matters
While pretesting is currently optional for CTE programs, it is a great way to review knowledge retained by the student from previous courses to help teachers prepare their courses to allow students to be more effective during the current school year. It is a recognized way to document student gain. This documentation of student gain, as previously stated, can allow teachers to better prepare, ultimately improving teacher effectiveness, which is beneficial to the student, the teacher, local programs, and ultimately to Ohio business and industry.

Contributor: Angela Stansell