1. A server for pretesting items for subsequent presentation to participants in a target class, the system comprising: a processor; and a computer readable medium comprising instructions to perform the operations comprising: transmitting, by the server, an item to devices associated with a potential set of students, wherein the item is presented by the devices associated with the potential set of students; receiving first student input data from at least some of the devices associated with the potential set of students, wherein the first student input data is received in response to presenting the item to the potential set of students; receiving at least one value of a characteristic associated with students in the potential set of students, wherein the characteristics corresponds with a demographic characteristic, a behavioral characteristic, or a performance characteristic of the students; pruning, by the server, at least one of the first student input data received in response to presenting the item from the potential set of students to form a composite class of remaining students, wherein the composite class of remaining students comprises the first student input data and the composite class of remaining students is associated with a value matching the at least one value of the characteristic; transmitting a post task question to at least some of the devices associated with the composite class of remaining students; receiving second student input data in response to the post task question; creating guidance on revising the item based at least in part on the first student input data or second student input data received from the devices associated with the composite class of remaining students; and transmitting, by the server, the guidance for revising the item to an instructor device associated with the target class.