Why Give a Pretest or Posttest?
Pretests and Posttests allow us to:
Measure student growth throughout the year. We want to equip teachers with the quantitative data to show that students are learning and growing as a result of their computer science courses. Comparing student performance on the pretest and posttest is a good way to measure student outcomes and demonstrate the importance of offering computer science at your school.
Pretests give you data to inform instruction throughout the year. Ideally, students will enter your computer science course with strong math and logical thinking skills, but we know that sometimes students do not have a strong grasp on all of the prerequisite knowledge for a course. By giving students a pretest, we hope to help you identify potential stumbling blocks early in the year, so you can modify instruction to spend more time working on the skills your students need.
What Does the Pretest Measure?
The CodeHS Pretest measures two main outcomes:
Student Mindsets: The mission of CodeHS is to empower all students to meaningfully impact the future. We hope that by providing engaging learning experiences, more middle and high school students will be inspired and motivated to engage with CS in college and beyond. We will measure self-efficacy and interest in pursuing computer science beyond their current CodeHS course across all students.
Skills and Knowledge: Learning computer science requires students to use and build on their reasoning and problem-solving skills. We will measure logical thinking and any related math skills for the course you will be teaching.
Accessing Course Pretests
This link will take you to the Handouts tool, which includes printable versions the Pretests and Posttests associated with your Courses. You can switch Courses using the dropdown menu at the top:
Assigning Pretests and Posttests
To assign a Pretest or Posttest assessment to your students, first find a Playlist for your course below, then assign using the blue Assign Playlist button:
Pretest Playlists
Posttest Playlists
How CodeHS Develops Pretests and Posttest Questions
Mindset: The questions around mindset are designed to measure student interest and confidence around CS. These mindset questions measure self-efficacy, likelihood of pursuing CS, and whether CS is interesting or appealing to students.
Knowledge & Content: All of the knowledge and content questions map back to either CSTA K-12 standards or Common Core math standards. These questions were peer-reviewed by CodeHS teachers.
Common Core Math Standards
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.1: Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.C.7.A: Interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of two numbers on a number line diagram.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.2.C: Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations).
CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
2-A-7-4 (Interim): Interpret the flow of execution of algorithms and predict their outcomes.
2-IC-20: Compare tradeoffs associated with computing technologies that affect people's everyday activities and career options.
2-DA-07: Represent data using multiple encoding schemes.
2-AP-13: Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
3B-AP-14: Construct solutions to problems using student-created components, such as procedures, modules and/or objects.
Still have questions? Contact our team at hello@codehs.com to learn more!