Self-Assessment¶
Self-study only works if you can tell whether you have actually learned something. This section gives you the tools to do that: quizzes with hidden answers, lab rubrics, and guidance on marking your own work honestly.
The principle: try before you reveal¶
Every answer in this course is hidden behind a collapsible block. Read the question, write your answer down, and only then reveal. Reading an answer and thinking "yes, I knew that" is one of the most reliable ways to learn nothing.
The applied question, and its hint¶
Every lesson's self-assessment ends with one applied question, marked **Apply it — …**. Where
the earlier questions ask you to explain or distinguish, this one puts you in a situation — an example
project, a constraint, a number — and asks for a decision.
Each applied question carries a visible hint underneath it. The hint is not a smuggled answer: it says what a strong answer must contain, usually the criterion to reason from and the trade-off to state. Read the hint before you answer — that is what it is for. If you can answer the earlier questions but cannot decide anything on the applied one, that is the most useful signal a self-assessment can give you, and it is worth returning to the lesson's worked example before you read the model answer.
What is available¶
| Assessment | Covers | Format | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz — Foundations | Modules 01–02 | 10 questions, hidden answers | Available |
| Applied question in every lesson | The lesson's own topic | One scenario per lesson: a situation with real numbers, a decision to make, a hint, and a hidden model answer | Available in all 39 lessons |
| Capstone rubric | Whole course | 8 weighted dimensions, self-markable | Available |
| Lab rubrics | Practical skill | Self-marking table in each lab | In each lab |
| Capstone self-check | Capstone milestones | Evidence checklist per milestone | Available |
| Module quizzes (03–12) | Each module | 10 questions each | Planned — until they exist, the applied question in each lesson is the check for that topic |
| Mid-course assessment | Modules 01–07 | Mixed | Planned |
| End-of-course assessment | Modules 01–12 | Mixed | Planned |
| Advanced practice track | Topics 1–15 beyond the core | Lessons with activities | Available |
See the Implementation Plan for when the remaining assessments will be written.
Three ways to check yourself¶
Answer the module quiz in writing. Justify each answer, then reveal the model answer and compare your reasoning, not just your conclusion.
Every lab ends with a rubric. Mark your artefact honestly against it before moving on. The point is to find gaps while they are still cheap to fix.
Explain the module's main idea, out loud, to a classmate or in writing. If you cannot explain it without notes, you do not yet know it.
Reading your results¶
| What you observe | What to do |
|---|---|
| Mostly correct, easy to justify | Move on to the next module |
| Correct answers, shaky reasons | Re-read the relevant lesson sections |
| Several wrong answers | Re-read the lesson, then retake the quiz before the next module |
| You disagree with a model answer | Check the reasoning against the module — and consider proposing a correction |
Disagreeing with an answer
Some questions have more than one defensible answer. If you can justify yours from the material, that is a good sign, not a problem. If you think a model answer is wrong, see Contributing.
Writing an assessment (contributors)¶
Use the Assessment Template to write a new quiz or exercise — the Quiz Template page lists the six things a quiz page must contain and is the quick reference for the structure. Every answer must be hidden behind a collapsible block.