Post-Assessment

What is a post-assessment?

A post-assessment is any assessment given at the end of a learning process. It measures whether or not learners met expected learning outcomes and identifies areas for improvement in the next iteration. Post-assessment activities include quizzes, tests, and observation of student performance. It can include follow-up assessments weeks or months after the initial learning process to measure long-term retention of learning outcomes. 

Example: At the end of the workplace safety training session, post-assessment activities included a simulation based on real-world scenarios to test training impact. 

Why are post-assessments important?

Data provided by post assessments help L&D departments assess how well training initiatives contribute to expected learning outcomes. Post-assessment data tests how much participants learned, where common challenges occurred, and what knowledge and skill gaps still need to be addressed. L&D teams use this data to improve the flow of learning content, inform follow-up coaching, and build relevant follow-up assessments.

How to create effective post-assessment activities

When creating post-assessment activities, make sure you’re working with clear learning objectives tied to business outcomes. What do learners need to know and how long do they have to learn it? Are they expected to know everything immediately after training, or is this an ongoing learning process that will be assessed over a longer period of time? Most importantly, make sure your post-assessment ties back to learning objectives. 

L&D teams can use powerful course authoring tools to create effective post-assessment activities. Post-assessments should be relevant, applicable, and specific to an employee’s daily workflow. While multiple choice quizzes are easy to make, drag-and-drop activities, matching activities, and branching scenarios provide a more engaging, interactive learning experience. Instructional designers can use Articulate’s AI Course Drafts feature to instantly create courses—including engaging assessments—from source material in just a few clicks.