# Self-Assessment Method Checklist

> The problem with testing yourself is that you are also the examiner, and the examiner wants to
> pass. Every item here guards against a specific way people flatter themselves.

**Subject:** _______________  **Date:** _______

## 1. Before

- [ ] I will **answer before reading the answer** — out loud or written, not "in my head"
- [ ] I am not looking anything up mid-question
- [ ] I have accepted in advance that a low score is useful information

🔴 Reading a question and then reading its answer feels like learning and produces almost none.
The retrieval effort is the mechanism — the moment of struggling to recall is what strengthens
recall.

## 2. Answering

- [ ] Answer stated **before** revealing the answer, every time
- [ ] Written or spoken, not merely recognised
- [ ] Where uncertain, I noted the uncertainty before checking
- [ ] I did not skip questions I felt I "basically knew"

The questions you feel you basically know are exactly where the gap between recognition and recall
lives. Answer them properly.

## 3. Scoring honestly

| | Count |
|---|---|
| Answered correctly and confidently | |
| Answered correctly but hesitated | |
| Got wrong | |
| Did not know at all | |

- [ ] **The hesitations count as gaps**, not as passes
- [ ] I did not upgrade a partially-right answer to correct
- [ ] I noted *why* each wrong answer was wrong

Hesitation is the single most useful signal in a self-test. A fact you recall slowly under no
pressure is a fact you will not recall at all during an incident.

## 4. What to do with the result

- [ ] For each gap, I read the underlying material rather than memorising the answer
- [ ] I identified whether the gap was a fact or a **misconception**
- [ ] Misconceptions get priority — a wrong belief is worse than a missing fact
- [ ] I noted anything to practise rather than read

**Facts to review:** _______________
**Misconceptions to correct:** _______________
**Things to practise rather than read:** _______________

## 5. Spacing

- [ ] I will re-test in about a week, not tomorrow
- [ ] The re-test is on the **gaps**, plus a sample of what I got right
- [ ] I am not re-testing immediately after reading the answers

Re-testing immediately measures short-term memory. Leaving a gap of days and then failing is the
honest result, and it is the one worth acting on.

Include some questions you got right — a "correct" answer that has decayed in a week is the most
common surprise.

## 6. What this cannot tell you

Be clear about the boundary:

- [ ] I understand this measures **recall of things somebody wrote down**
- [ ] It does not measure whether I can build a working system
- [ ] It does not measure design judgement, or holding a position in an argument
- [ ] It does not measure operating something under pressure

A high score is evidence of careful reading and nothing more. Capability is measured by
[Projects](/academy/projects/) and by having shipped things.

## 7. Close

| | |
|---|---|
| Score | |
| Hesitations | |
| Biggest misconception found | |
| Re-test date | |
| Something to build as a result | |

**The last row is the important one.** If a self-test does not send you to build or read something
specific, it was a quiz rather than an assessment.