In Testlify, weighted scores are a powerful way to tailor assessments to your specific needs, giving you more flexibility in how you evaluate candidates. This article will guide you through how weighted scores work in Testlify, how to apply them, and how you can use both custom questions and scoring preferences to optimize your assessments.
How Weighted Scores Work in Testlify
Weighted scores allow you to assign different levels of importance to each test or assessment in a given candidate evaluation. By adjusting the weight of each test, you can prioritize certain skills or areas of knowledge over others. Here’s how we calculate weighted scores in Testlify and how our system differs from other platforms.
Key Features of Weighted Scores in Testlify
Custom Questions Integration: Unlike other platforms, Testlify allows custom questions to be part of the weighted scoring process. This ensures that your unique assessment needs, beyond standard tests, are fully integrated into the overall candidate evaluation.
Excluding Tests with Weight x0: A unique feature in Testlify is the ability to completely exclude a particular test from the final score by assigning it a weight of x0. When a test is assigned a weight of 0, it will have no impact on the candidate’s final evaluation.
Scoring Preferences: “Score-based” vs. “Weight-based”: Testlify provides two scoring preferences that you can choose from, depending on how you want to evaluate candidates.
Score-based: This is the default scoring system. In this method, the score for each test is calculated based on the candidate's performance. The impact of each test on the final score is then calculated using a simple formula based on the total score of all tests.
Formula: Test Score Impact = (Test Score / Sum of all test scores) * 100
Weight-based: If you opt for a weight-based approach, the scores are adjusted according to the weights you assign. This allows you to give more importance to certain tests based on your hiring priorities.
Example of Applying Scores
Score based
Let’s walk through an example to illustrate how score based is calculated in Testlify.
Assume you have an assessment with 4 tests. Here’s how the calculation works:
Default impact :
Since there are 4 tests,
Test 1: Score = 100
Test 2: Score = 400
Test 3: Score = 300
Test 4: Score = 200
Default impact for the tests would be calculated as following
Formula: Score/Sum of all scores*100
Test 1: Impact = 10%
Test 2: Impact = 40%
Test 3: Impact = 30%
Test 4: Impact = 20%
Weight based
Let’s walk through an example to illustrate how weighted scores are calculated in Testlify.
Assume you have an assessment with 4 tests and want to assign weights to these tests. Here’s how the calculation works:
Assigning Default Impact
Since there are 4 tests, the default impact for each test would be calculated as follows:
Default Impact = 100% / 4 = 25%
Applying Weights
Let's say we have 4 tests with weights given below -
Test 1: Weight = 3
Test 2: Weight = 1
Test 3: Weight = 1
Test 4: Weight = 3
Exclude test with applying x0 weight
Ability to completely exclude a particular test from the final score by assigning it a weight of x0. When a test is assigned a weight of 0, it will have no impact on the candidate’s final evaluation.
Calculating the Weighted Score
The final weighted score is calculated by combining the test scores and multiplying by their respective weights. Assuming the candidate’s scores for each test are as follows:
Test 1 Score: 80%
Test 2 Score: 70%
Test 3 Score: 90%
Test 4 Score: 50%
The weighted score is calculated like this:
Weighted Score = (Test 1 Score * Weight 1) + (Test 2 Score * Weight 2) + (Test 3 Score * Weight 3) + (Test 4 Score * Weight 4) / Sum of weights
Weighted Score = ((80 * 3) + (70 * 1) + (90 * 1) + (50 * 3)) / (3 + 1 + 1 + 3)
Weighted Score = (240 + 70 + 90 + 150) / 8
Weighted Score = 550 / 8 = 68.75%
How to apply a weighted score?
From the Assessment Settings → Configuration menu, the end user can select their preferred scoring requirement for an assessment
In the dropdown, there are 2 options:
Score based
Weight based
From the given dropdown the end-user can select Weight Based
When the preference is set to "Weight-Based" and the "Edit Weight" option is selected, the system will allow user to define their weights against each test of an assessment
Each test can be further weighed within the matrix of 0 - 5 at maximum. With x0 having zero impact and x5 having maximum impact.
By default each of the tests will have equal weight.
Why use weighted scores?
Weighted scores offer several advantages:
Customized Evaluation: Tailor your assessments to your unique hiring needs by adjusting weights based on your criteria.
Enhanced Decision-Making: Weighted scores provide a clearer and more accurate representation of a candidate's suitability.
Common questions
Why can’t I add weights to some tests in my assessment?
Weights can be applied to all tests that contribute to the average score. Therefore, you won't be able to assign weights to the following tests in your assessment:
Typing speed tests
Big 5 (OCEAN)
Enneagram
16 types
DISC
Summary of Weighted Scoring in Testlify
Custom Questions: These are integrated into the weighted scoring process.
Default Impact: Initially calculated as 100% divided by the number of tests.
Impact with Weights: The default impact is multiplied by the assigned weight.
Weight x0: Use a weight of 0 to exclude a test from the final score.
Scoring Preferences: Choose between score-based or weight-based scoring to calculate the candidate’s overall evaluation.
Weighted Score Calculation: Use the weighted formula to calculate the final score based on the candidate’s test results and assigned weights.
By using weighted scores, Testlify gives you a more precise and customizable way to evaluate candidates, ensuring that the most important areas of expertise receive the appropriate level of emphasis in your hiring process