Skill IQ assessments help identify where you should begin learning in a specific technology's path and can be used as a wayfinding tool.
Learn more about Skill IQ common solutions in Skill IQ topics.
Introduction to Skill IQ assessments
A Skill IQ assessment is a relative assessment. This means that a learner is compared with peers who took the same assessment. The assessment also adapts as it’s taken, giving harder or easier questions based on previous answers. Each assessment has about 25 questions and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Skill IQ assessments are often part of a path and can be added to a channel.
Glossary of terms
Use this glossary to familiarize yourself with important terms used in Skill IQ.
Beta
A status for Skill IQ assessments while it's being calibrated and tested. You can take a Skill IQ assessment in beta to help calibrate it, but you won't receive a score. You will, however, see which answers you got right and wrong. When the assessment has been completed by enough learners, it'll be published. You'll need to retake the assessment at that time if you want a Skill IQ score.
Redo
The ability to re-attempt a Skill IQ assessment immediately after taking it at no risk. Out of the two attempts, the highest score is the one recorded.
Retake
The ability to remeasure a Skill IQ after fourteen days. The purpose of a retake is to measure your learning growth since the last time you took it. Available retakes can be seen on the My Skills tab on the Skill IQ page (opens in new tab).
Retired assessment
A Skill IQ assessment that has been removed from Skills. A retired assessment can't be taken or retaken and a learner can only see the last Skill IQ score and level in their Profile (opens in new tab).
Skill IQ score
Also known as Skill IQ, this is a score from 0 to 300. This score is relative to the users who have taken the associated Skill IQ assessment.
Skill IQ assessment
A multiple-choice question comparative assessment in particular technology or business skill areas.
Skill level
Also known as range. Group of percentiles for a particular Skill IQ assessment. There are five ranges: Novice, Proficient Emerging, Proficient Average, Proficient Above Average, and Expert.
Skill IQ levels
Skill IQ is a score from 0 to 300 that's based on your percentile in that skill area. Your score is based on your technical abilities against users who've taken that assessment. This makes it a norm reference assessment. This is different from a criterion reference assessment, which measures a learner's knowledge against a standard.
The Skill IQ 0 to 300 scale is broken into five ranges:
- Novice: 0–19th percentiles
- Emerging: 20th–39th percentiles
- Average: 40th–59th percentiles
- Above Average: 60th–79th percentiles
- Expert: 80th and higher percentiles
You'll get a skill level of Novice, Proficient Emerging, Proficient Average, Proficient Above Average, or Expert, depending on your Skill IQ results.
For example, if you receive a score of 117, you'll be in the 28th percentile of your peers. Your skill range will be Emerging and your skill level will be Proficient Emerging. All Skill IQ scores also include a date of verification that matches the date you completed the assessment.
Skill IQ model
The difficulty of the questions in a Skill IQ assessment changes based on right or wrong answers given by all individuals who've taken a particular assessment. The assessments are short and comprehensive because they're based on modern test theories and created by subject-matter experts.
With a large network of experts adding questions, Skill IQ assessments stay relevant and evolve.
Path placement
Most skill paths are structured into beginner, intermediate, and advanced categories. Your skill level shows with where to start in a path. For example, in the Above Average range of Proficient, you could start in the advanced section of a path. A Novice skill level will almost always suggest starting in the beginner section of a path.