Repeating Assessment Modules?

The Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment is a resource intended to support instruction. We consider it to be a way to see what people already know and to identify areas in which additional skills are needed. Another secondary purpose of the assessment is to provide a means by which learners can 'prove' those skills to others, like future employers. In either case, the assessments are tools intended to support instruction. When a learner takes the test multiple times in order to remember the correct answer, their test results do not represent demonstrable skills; rather, their test results only show their ability to guess at/remember the correct answer. In the long run, this testing strategy will undermine both the efficacy of the certificates awarded and the skill development of the learner. We highly recommend that sponsor sites refrain from serial testing without instruction in between the test events. Please encourage, provide, facilitate an hour or so of learning per skill area identified as 'needs improvement,' before re-testing. This will ensure the instructional needs of those assessed are met, while helping to maintain the integrity and credibility of the Certificate.