Situational Tests

1. What are Situational Tests?

Situational Tests are scenario-based assessments that evaluate learners' ability to apply knowledge in real-world contexts. Each Situational Test presents learners with a realistic workplace situation followed by multiple-choice questions that test their understanding and decision-making based on that scenario.

🎬 Watch this as a short narrated video

Steps shown in this video

1. Situational Tests are added while you build or edit a course: open Course Content
2. In the Add Content menu, choose Situational Tests
3. Create With AI drafts a test from the lessons in your course outline
4. Or write your own: choose Create Manually
5. Step 1: give the test a title
6. Write the brief: a realistic situation, the complication, and the decision the learner must make
7. Guidelines to write a Brief has tips if you're stuck
8. Click Add Questions to move to step 2
9. Write a multiple-choice question about the scenario
10. Add the options. Exactly one is correct
11. The radio marks the right answer, flagged Correct. Learners score only for correct answers
12. Optionally explain why it's right
13. Add Question adds more questions to the same scenario
14. Click Create Situational Test to add it to your course outline. It counts towards course progress and score

2. How are Situational Tests structured?

Each Situational Test contains:

• A title and brief - a realistic scenario that learners might encounter in their work environment
• One or more multiple-choice questions - each with two or more options, exactly one correct answer, and an optional explanation

These questions require learners to analyse the situation and show how they would handle similar real-world challenges.

3. How do Situational Tests impact course progress and score?

Situational Tests contribute to both course progress and score:

• Progress: Each Situational Test must be completed to achieve 100% course progress. Each question in a Situational Test carries equal weight in the course progress calculation
• Score: Situational Test results are included in the average score calculation, contributing to the learner's overall course score and Pass Score evaluation (if applicable).

4. How are Situational Tests scored?

Situational Tests are scored on the accuracy of learners' answers. Unlike text-based questions or exercises where submission earns full points, Situational Tests require correct answers to achieve maximum scores. Because every question is multiple choice, the score depends on how many questions the learner answers correctly.

5. Who can add Situational Tests to courses?

Admins (in the admin portal) and team managers (in the Knowledge Hub) can add Situational Tests while building or editing a course. Open Course Content, then select Situational Tests in the Add Content menu and choose one of two options:

• Create Manually - a two-step flow. First add a Title and Brief (guidance on describing the situation is shown above the brief), then select Add Questions and write your multiple-choice questions. Select Create Situational Test once every question is complete.
• Create With AI - drafts a test from the lessons in your course outline. You can add optional Audience and Instructions prompts, then select Generate Situational Test. With lessons in the outline, the AI writes one question per lesson (up to 6). With no lessons, it writes 3-5 questions from a Topic you give it. Review and edit the draft, then select Save Situational Test.

Nothing is added to the course until you create or save the test, so cancelling leaves the course unchanged. To change a test you created, select the pencil icon on its row in the course outline.

Situational Tests that 5Mins wrote can be added to or removed from a course, but not edited. Create With AI is hidden if AI generation is turned off for your organisation, and AI drafts count towards a daily AI generation limit.

6. Where do Situational Tests appear in courses?

Learners see a Situational Test exactly where it sits in the course outline - inside its section if the course uses sections. If lessons must be completed in order, the test unlocks in sequence like any other item.

Warm-up Situational Tests, which only 5Mins can add, appear in a separate block at the beginning of the course.

7. How do learners experience Situational Tests?

From the learner perspective:

• Learners read a scenario
• They then answer the multiple-choice questions based on that situation
• Questions test their ability to apply course concepts to real-world scenarios
• Results contribute to both course progress and overall score

For questions about adding Situational Tests to your courses or technical support, contact support@5mins.ai.