Overview
A pre-assessment lets learners prove what they already know at the start of a topic. It is sometimes called a pre-test, skills check or test-out assessment. Learners who pass can then skip the learning content. Learners who don’t pass work through the content, then complete a final assessment at the end.
Pre-assessments work well for:
Refresher training, where many learners already know the material
Recertification, where learners need to confirm existing knowledge
Experienced staff completing training designed for a mixed audience
Note: This article covers the settings specific to pre-assessments. Learn more about the Assessment element and its settings.
How to set up a pre-assessment
In Part 1 of your topic, click + Content and select the Assessment element.
Set up the pre-assessment:
a. Enter a clear Label, such as ‘Pre-assessment’.
b. Enter Instructions that explain that passing lets learners skip ahead.
c. Under Options, set Questions asked and Pass mark, then set Retakes allowed to ‘0’ so learners get one attempt.
d. Set the Pass event to one of the options listed after these steps.
e. Set the Fail event to Must use retakes until pass or fail assessment.
f. Under Question pool, select Display in random order.
g. Click Save.In the last part of your topic, click + Content and select Assessment to add the final assessment.
Set up the final assessment as a normal assessment, usually with Must use retakes until passed assessment as the Fail event, then click Save.
Add questions to both assessments:
a. Open a Quiz, Fill-in or Match activity in the topic.
b. Under Where should this quiz be shown, tick both the pre-assessment and the final assessment.
c. Untick This part if the question should only appear in assessments, so learners don’t see it in the content first.
d. Click Save.
e. Repeat for each question.Publish the topic. Learn more about publishing and updating Assessment elements.
For step 2d, choose one of these Pass event options:
Pass assessment and complete selected parts: Tick the parts learners can skip (for example Parts 2 to 4).
Pass assessment and complete entire topic: Passing completes the topic straight away. Only use this if learners don’t need to complete or review anything else in the topic.
Important: The Fail event must be Must use retakes until pass or fail assessment. This lets a learner who doesn’t pass go on to the content instead of being stopped at the pre-assessment.
You don’t need to write separate questions for the pre-assessment and the final assessment. Each assessment draws its own questions from the shared pool. With a large enough pool and Display in random order, learners see a different mix of questions in each assessment.
Troubleshooting
Problem: A learner who failed the pre-assessment can’t continue into the content.
Cause: The pre-assessment’s Fail event is Must use retakes until passed assessment, or the learner still has retakes remaining.
Solution: Set the Fail event to Must use retakes until pass or fail assessment and Retakes allowed to ‘0’, then publish the topic. An admin or assessor can give learners who are already stuck a retake.