WHAT CAMBRIDGE SAYS ABOUT PRETESTING
General information
What is pretesting?
Testing materials before they are used in exams allows us to make certain our exams are accurate and fair. As part of our commitment to quality and fairness, we subject all the materials in our exams to a number of procedures to ensure they are accurate and reliable. One of these quality procedures is pretesting.
How pretesting helps teachers and learners
Pretests give learners a chance to practise taking Cambridge English exams using genuine English questions under exam conditions. This helps learners to know which areas they need most practice in, and gives them experience and confidence in taking tests. For teachers, it helps highlight areas where their learners might need more help. It is advised that students take pretests six to eight weeks before their live exam.
Should I enter my students for Preliminary or Preliminary for Schools pretesting and trialing?
If your students are preparing to take a particular exam then this is what they should be entered for in terms of pretesting. However, centres are advised to consider the age of candidates when deciding whether to enter candidates for the ‘for Schools’ or standard exams. The ‘for Schools’ exams are designed with topics of interest to school-aged learners. In terms of pretesting and trialing, learners should fit the right age profile for the ‘for Schools’ exams to ensure we have as accurate a picture of task performance as possible.
We have limited pretest
We will try to supply all the pretesting components (e.g. Reading) you request, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee this. A common reason is that we may have very high demand for a particular session and for testing purposes we need to have a mix of first-language students in our sample.
What is pretesting?
Testing materials before they are used in exams allows us to make certain our exams are accurate and fair. As part of our commitment to quality and fairness, we subject all the materials in our exams to a number of procedures to ensure they are accurate and reliable. One of these quality procedures is pretesting.
How pretesting helps teachers and learners
Pretests give learners a chance to practise taking Cambridge English exams using genuine English questions under exam conditions. This helps learners to know which areas they need most practice in, and gives them experience and confidence in taking tests. For teachers, it helps highlight areas where their learners might need more help. It is advised that students take pretests six to eight weeks before their live exam.
Should I enter my students for Preliminary or Preliminary for Schools pretesting and trialing?
If your students are preparing to take a particular exam then this is what they should be entered for in terms of pretesting. However, centres are advised to consider the age of candidates when deciding whether to enter candidates for the ‘for Schools’ or standard exams. The ‘for Schools’ exams are designed with topics of interest to school-aged learners. In terms of pretesting and trialing, learners should fit the right age profile for the ‘for Schools’ exams to ensure we have as accurate a picture of task performance as possible.
We have limited pretest
We will try to supply all the pretesting components (e.g. Reading) you request, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee this. A common reason is that we may have very high demand for a particular session and for testing purposes we need to have a mix of first-language students in our sample.
