Skill IQ helps identify where you should begin learning in a given 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 and adaptive assessment that compares a learner’s score with peers who took the same assessment. The assessment adapts as it’s taken, but scoring is relative. This assessment takes about 15 minutes to complete and consists of approximately 25 questions. Skill IQ assessments are often part of a path and can be added to a channel, making Skill IQ an integral part of the learning journey as a wayfinding tool.
Important: Some Skill IQ assessments are marked as BETA. This means we're still collecting data for those skills in order to give you the most accurate Skill IQ. In order to receive a Skill IQ, you must take the skill assessment again once it moves out of beta.
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. You can take a Skill IQ assessment in beta to help calibrate it, but you won't receive a score, but you'll 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 if you want a Skill IQ score.
Retake
The ability to remeasure a Skill IQ after fourteen days. 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 area.
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 continuous score from 0 to 300 that's based on your percentile in that skill area. Pluralsight's adaptive skill calculations work by measuring your technical abilities relative to the population of users who have taken that assessment. This doesn't measure your broad intelligence.
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 28nd 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 tests are short and comprehensive because they're based on modern test theories, Bayesian statistics, and machine learning to model skills and find questions that match those skills.
With a large network of expert practitioners regularly adding questions to our assessments, Skill IQ assessments not only stay relevant, but also constantly evolve.
Path placement
Skill paths are structured into beginner, intermediate and advanced categories. Skill IQ provides a skill rating of 0–300, which falls into one of five levels: Novice, Proficient Emerging, Proficient Average, Proficient Above Average, and Expert.
Your skill level typically aligns with where in a path to start. 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.