Scoring

Every question produces a score in two steps: first the answer is evaluated to a success rate between 0% and 100% (right/wrong for auto-scored types, partial credit where enabled, a reviewer's or AI's judgment for open-ended types); then the success rate is converted to points through the question's multipliers. Dimensions decide which competency buckets those points also count toward.

Positive Multiplier

The positive multiplier is the question's weight — the points awarded for a fully correct answer. Partial success scales proportionally:

Leave every question at the default multiplier of 1 for equal weighting, or raise the multiplier on questions that matter more — a hard case-analysis question at 5 counts as much as five routine questions at 1.

Negative Multiplier

The negative multiplier deducts points for a wrong answer (a blank answer deducts nothing). Its purpose is to discourage blind guessing:

On a four-choice question, a random guess is right 25% of the time. With +1 for correct and −0.33 for wrong, guessing has an expected value of about zero — so guessing no longer pays. A common convention is a penalty of 1/(number of choices − 1): −0.33 for four choices, −0.25 for five.

Tell candidates when negative marking is active — in the test instructions or the notice step. Penalties that candidates don't know about measure risk-taking, not knowledge.

Fairness tip

Dimensions

Dimensions are named competencies — “Verbal Reasoning”, “Attention to Detail”, “Grammar” — that you attach to questions. A question can contribute to one or several dimensions, and reports then show a per-dimension breakdown next to the overall score.

Example: a 40-question aptitude test tags each question with one of Numerical, Verbal, or Abstract. The candidate's report shows the total score plus three dimension scores — revealing that a mid-range overall performer is actually excellent numerically but weak verbally. Dimensions also power step prerequisites (gate a step on a dimension score) and analytics comparisons.

Define dimension names consistently across your question bank — the same spelling everywhere — so scores aggregate correctly when questions from different folders meet in one test. A Question Bank Schema can enforce this.

Good to know

Associated vs Scored Dimensions

The dimensions described above are associated dimensions: each receives the question's overall score. For questions where one answer should be scored differently per competency — an essay earning 80% for structure but 30% for vocabulary — use scored dimensions instead: see Scored Dimensions.

Both kinds can coexist on one question as long as their paths don't overlap — dimension results roll up path segments, so overlap would double-count. Valid: scored Aptitude/Deductive Reasoning with associated Overall/Aptitude. Invalid: scored Aptitude/Deductive Reasoning with associated Aptitude — the editor blocks this.