Introduction

LearningBuilder includes a flexible Assessment Engine that enables administrators to create and deliver low-stakes, computer-scored assessments as part of a fully integrated workflow. These assessments can help evaluate a user’s competencies, guide learning, or provide self-reflective feedback. They are typically low-stakes — distinct from high-stakes certification exams — and are designed to support ongoing learning and development.

Key Features

• Supports multiple assessment types, including Diagnostic, Reflective, Longitudinal, and Scored

• Computerized scoring with customizable point weighting by question or answer

• Optional Reflective Feedback provides immediate or delayed educational feedback per question

• Configurable formats: one question per page or all questions on one page

• Flexible navigation options: free navigation, section-based, or tightly controlled one-question-at-a-time progression

• Optional time limits per assessment or per question

• Modular setup using Forms, Sections, and Questions for flexible configuration

• Supports multi-section assessments with independent navigation and scoring rules

• Optional integration with a Competency Model for internal mapping and reporting (not visible to end users)

• Users can save progress and return later to resume where they left off

• Fully responsive user interface that works across devices

Creating an Assessment

Assessments are configured under Admin → [Disciplines].

(Note: The term “Discipline” may appear differently in your system depending on your Glossary settings. A common term is “Credential”)

To access Assessments:

• Look for an Assessments column on the right side of the Disciplines list.

• Click the View List link in the row for the relevant Discipline to see its list of Assessments.

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If you do not see the Assessments column, the module may not be enabled. In that case:

• Open a support ticket to request activation.

• HS staff will enable the settings AssessmentConfigurationVisibleToAdmins and AssessmentsVisibleToPractitioners.

• Be aware that a module fee applies for this feature.

Note: You or HS staff will also need to configure one or more workflows to handle assessments based on your business rules. See Assessments: Configuring the Workflows.

Steps to Create an Assessment

The following is an overview of the steps to create an assessment. The sections that follow provide more detailed guidance for each step.

1. Add the Assessment
   Create a new Assessment record under the appropriate Discipline.

2. Configure the Default Form
   Set the properties for the automatically created Form (e.g., layout, scoring type, feedback settings).

3. Set Up the First Section
   Edit the initial Section to define navigation, instructions, and optional Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) settings.

4. Add Questions
   Enter your questions and configure their types, scoring, and feedback.

5. Add Additional Sections (if needed)
   Create more sections to group questions logically or enforce navigation rules.

6. Preview the Form
   Use the Preview tool to view the assessment form as a Practitioner. This can be used to test the Assessment configuration.

7. Add Additional Forms (if needed)
   Use multiple Forms to vary question order, wording, or structure across different test-takers.

8. Publish the Assessment
   Edit each Form to set its status to Published.

9. Associate the Assessment to an Activity
   To make the Assessment available to Practitioners, create a new activity or edit an existing one.

Adding a New Assessment

From the assessment list page, click Add Assessment to begin configuration and set the assessment settings.

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Assessment Settings

Each assessment has the following properties:

• Title: The name of the assessment.

• Type: Diagnostic, Reflective, etc.
  ⚠️ This is for administrative categorization only. It does not affect available configuration options or functionality.

• Status: Draft, Published, etc. This is automatically updated. An assessment becomes “Published” when at least one Form is published.

• Competency Model (optional): Used for reporting and question mapping. Not visible to the end user.

• Description: Internal-only — for administrators to document purpose or notes.

Assessment Types (Informational Only)

The descriptions above can be changed in the UI by editing the ASSESSMENT_AssessmentTypeInfoPopup Content Block.

Configuring a Form

Every assessment must have at least one Form. When you create an assessment, a Form is created automatically.

In many simple implementations, only one Form is created and used.

What is a Form?

A Form is a specific version of an Assessment. It defines the question content, layout, and scoring. The system will automatically assign a Form to the user when they begin an Assessment.

Using multiple Forms allows you to:

• Prevent cheating — Different users can be randomly assigned different Forms with varied question orders or wording.

• Tailor to different cohorts — For example, avoiding culturally specific phrasing for international or specialized audiences.

• Use different question formats — Such as multiple choice for one group and short answer for another. (Note: Short answer questions are not currently supported.)

• Test variations over time — Assess updates or compare performance across different formats.

• Retire and replace older content — You can retire one Form and introduce a new one while keeping all Forms grouped under a single Assessment, maintaining continuity in reporting and structure.

Each Assessment evaluates knowledge or competency in a defined content domain — but there may be more than one valid way to assess that domain. Forms give you the flexibility to support that variety.

How the System Selects a Form

When a user starts an assessment, the system assigns a Form automatically:

• Lowest priority number = highest priority

• If a user hasn’t taken any Forms, they get the highest priority available

• If multiple Forms share the same priority, one is selected randomly

• If the user has completed all Forms, they may be assigned one again — but the system avoids assigning the same Form back-to-back

✅ In most cases with only one active Form, the system always assigns that one.

Form Configuration

Each Form has the following properties.

Form Settings

• Form Code (unique identifier)

• Status: Draft / Published

• Cut Score: Minimum passing score. Leave as 0 if there is not passing score. In this case the Results Page will just count the number of correct and incorrect scores.

• Priority: Lower = higher priority (used in selection logic)

• Instructions

• Private Notes: Internal-only

Results Page Options

These control what appears on the final results page. Refer to the example below to see where each field appears on the Results Page.

• Page Title: Title of the Results Page

• Show Scores: (check all that you wish to display)

  • Display the overall score and percentage of correct answers

  • Display a Correct/Incorrect indicator for each question

  • Display the earned points for each question

• Score Title: Title of the Score Summary section

• Feedback Title: A label for the Feedback section

• Feedback: Feedback is rich text content shown to all users after they complete the assessment. Use it to provide next steps, guidance, or a summary of helpful resources that can support deeper understanding of the assessment content.

Example Configurations

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No Cut Score

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With a Cut Score - Fail

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With a Cut Score - Pass

Setting up Assessment Sections

Each Form must have at least one Section (created automatically). You can add more as needed.

What is a Section?

A Section is a grouping of related questions that are displayed together on the assessment. Sections are useful for organizing questions around a common theme or scenario.

Sections provide several key functions:

• Navigation control – You can require users to complete a section before moving on, or allow free navigation between sections.

• Answer submission – When questions are not shown one-per-page, answers within a section are submitted together.

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (optional) – Each section can include an NDA that must be accepted before the user can access the questions.

Use sections to enhance usability, enforce structure, or support specific testing strategies.

Section Configuration

Each section has the following configuration settings:

Section Settings

• Section Name

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (optional)

  If configured, the user must agree to a specified NDA before accessing this section. This is typically used in scored assessments to affirm test integrity.

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• Instructions: Displayed before the section begins. This field can be used to set the context for a series of questions — for example, by describing a scenario or situation that some or all of the questions in the section relate to.

• User Experience Options:

  • Display format: All questions on a single page / One question per page

  • User Can Navigate to Previous Section: At any time / Once section is complete

  • User Can Navigate to Next Section: At any time / Once section is complete

  • User Can Revise Answers: At any time / Until section is complete /Never - Once submitted, answers are final

  • Display Reflective Feedback: Immediately / After answer is submitted

Time Limits (optional)

You can apply a per-question timer under certain conditions:

• Only available if questions are displayed one-per-page

• Answers must be final when submitted

Why use time limits?

• Encourage real-time responses in diagnostic quizzes

• Create pressure to simulate high-stakes testing (without full proctoring)

• Prevent excessive time spent on certain questions

Refer here for information about Timed Assessments including examples.

Adding Questions

Each Assessment Form Section can include multiple questions. Supported question types include:

• Multiple Choice – Single Answer

• Multiple Choice – Select All That Apply

• Likert Scale - Used primarily for non-scored questions to gather feedback in survey-style assessments. There are no right or wrong answers. However, if configured with scoring, selected responses can contribute to the overall assessment score.

Other question types are conceptually supported by the system but are not currently implemented. If you are interested in additional question formats, feel free to contact us to discuss possible enhancements in a future release.

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Question Configuration

When creating a question you will need to provide the following information:

General Fields

• Section: A dropdown allowing you to move a question to a new section

• Competency Area (optional): For reporting only

• Question Text: The text of the question.

• Interaction Type: Multiple Choice / Likert Scale

Multiple Choice Options

• For the Questions:

  • Selection Type: Single answer / Select all that apply

  • Scoring Type: Auto / Not scored

  • Score Weights: Explicit or equal weighting (leave as 0 for equal weighting)

• For the Answers:

  • Answer Values: Stored as A., B., etc. (not shown unless included in answer text)

  • Correct?: Checkbox to indicate correct answers

  • Points: Points given for selecting this answer.

  • Reflective Feedback (optional): Reflective Feedback is rich text content displayed according to the Section’s settings. It can be tailored to each answer to explain why a response is correct or incorrect, or to provide educational guidance. If you want all answers to show the same feedback, enter the same content for each answer.

Likert Scale Options

Note that all answers for a Likert Scale are considered correct; however, if scored, the contribution of each answer to the total score can vary based on the Points assigned to each scale level. This allows the Likert Scale to function both as a feedback tool and, optionally, as a graded component when aligned with specific scoring rules in the assessment definition.

• For the Questions:

  • Scale Range: 3–7 points

  • Scoring Type: Auto / Not scored

  • Score Weights: Explicit or equal weighting (leave as 0 for equal weighting)

• For the Answers:

  • Values: Typically 1, 2, 3, etc.

  • Label: Such as Low, Medium, High

  • Points: Points given for selecting this answer.

Tip: For all question types, use a Scoring Type of Not Scored for trial or survey questions that should not affect the user’s score. You may want to group these questions in their own section to make it clear they are unscored. Alternatively, if they are trial questions, you might prefer to mix them with scored questions so test takers cannot tell which are which.

✅ Use Preview on the Form page to see how your assessment will appear to users.

Making the Assessment Available for Use

After publishing an assessment, the administrator must make it available to practitioners by creating or updating an Activity:

• Go to Admin → [Activities] and click the blue Add [Activity] button in the upper right

✅ The term “Activity” may vary if it has been renamed via the Glossary feature.

• Choose an Activity Type that supports assessments

• Consider using the same name for the Activity as the Assessment, unless there is a reason to differentiate (e.g., one Activity includes multiple assessments)

• Fill out the Activity Definition fields, and select the desired Assessment from the Assessment dropdown

  • The Assessment will not appear in the dropdown unless it is published

• Publish the Activity Definition to make it available to users

Alternatively, if the Activity already exists, the administrator can simply edit it and update the Assessment dropdown to reference the newly published assessment.