[481] Research Brief RETROSPECTIVE PRETESTING IN THE COGNITIVE DOMAIN

Retrospective pretesting is a methodfor inferring learning by using the students ’ recollec-tions of their preinstruction knowledge in lieu of actual pretesting. The most significant problem encountered in such a procedure is establishing the validity of the inferred pre-course level of information; attempts to deal with that issue are presented in detail here are times when pretesting is impossible and control groups.1 ~~e inaccessible. There are other occasions when an instruc-tional program is planned in detail, but as the program progresses, it changes due to new information about needs of students, changes in faculty, and the like. At times, programs are planned to be particularly mindful of, and reactive to, student needs, and, in fact, are unable to chart a course in advance. Thus, a pretest prepared for an initially pro-posed curriculum might be unrelated to the program ultimately imple-mented. In such cases, can one infer learning or change from the student’s recollection of a previous state of knowledge? The tentative answer suggested by this small-scale study is yes