# Understand what the assessment measures.

Cert-Advance assessments test the application of knowledge to practical evidence through written explanations, ordering and decisions. The backend scores work using predefined rules, not AI grading. The result is a recorded assessment score with explicit limits, not a guarantee of complete professional competence.

## How are the tasks constructed?

Each new attempt selects a course-specific balanced task set. Messages, documents, tables and readable code provide the task evidence. Decorative photographs are illustrations; the text or data alongside them is the source to use. Task count, difficulty and duration vary by assessment.


## How does scoring work?

Decisions and ordering are checked against defined answer keys. Written responses use task-specific concept keywords, synonyms and rules, with partial credit where supported. The result includes category scores and model responses. Keyword matching has limits and can miss sound reasoning or accept a response without complete semantic correctness. No AI model grades answers. Submitted Python code is never executed.


## How are time limits and retakes applied?

The server fixes the question snapshot and deadline when a new attempt starts. Reloading, leaving or adjusting device time cannot extend that deadline. At expiry only saved drafts are graded; missing responses earn zero. Retakes open 48 hours after completion. Legacy untimed attempts retain their original policy.


## What integrity controls exist?

The interface restricts navigation during an active assessment and warns before closing. Focus interruptions are recorded but do not change the score. Browsers cannot reliably prevent closing, switching applications or getting outside assistance. Assessments are unproctored and do not verify identity.


## Is there a passing score for a certificate?

A completion certificate records your assessment and score. In the current beta, issuance requires a completed assessment and the short private assessment feedback; there is no minimum passing score. A higher score is a recorded result, not an accreditation or licence.


## Can scoring change after I complete a task?

Completed attempts store an encrypted grading-review snapshot and its rule version. New task or rubric changes do not rewrite that saved review. Older legacy results may be reconstructed from the current rubric and are marked when a review may differ.

- [What the public record confirms](https://certadvance.com/certificate-verification)

[Compare assessment briefings](https://certadvance.com/assessments)

Canonical: https://certadvance.com/assessment-methodology