---
key: mechanic/education--family-55
type: mechanic
id: education--family-55
lang: en
title: 'Assessment, diagnosis and self-checking'
summary: >-
  Assessment reveals prior knowledge and gaps. Self-checking compares work with
  clear criteria to choose the next learning task.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-55/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-55.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-55.md
aliases:
  - Assessment and self-checking
tags:
  - Educational games
  - 'Learning, feedback and assessment'
sourceIds:
  - source-872a30e434db6d16
sources:
  - id: source-872a30e434db6d16
    title: Duolingo
    url: >-
      https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-55
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-55'
    categoryIds:
      - learning
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Assessment and self-checking
    description: >-
      Assessment reveals prior knowledge and gaps. Self-checking compares work
      with clear criteria to choose the next learning task.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/learning-duo-101-3.webp
      width: 665
      height: 1440
      game: Duolingo
      sourceUrl: >-
        https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/
      originalUrl: >-
        https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/content.duolingo.com/Duolingo+101%3A+How+to+learn+a+language+on+Duolingo/3-onboarding.png
      credit: Duolingo
      rights: © Duolingo. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'Duolingo: starting from scratch or finding a suitable level'
      alt: 'Duolingo: starting from scratch or finding a suitable level'
      markers:
        - x: 49
          'y': 57
          label: Find my level offers placement
    tips:
      - Distinguish assessment from practice attempts with hints.
    examples:
      - title: Duolingo
        url: >-
          https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the
  original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated
  2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire
  classification or its effectiveness.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/education
---
# Assessment, diagnosis and self-checking

id: education--family-55
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/education--family-55
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-55/

Assessment reveals prior knowledge and gaps. Self-checking compares work with clear criteria to choose the next learning task.

## At a glance

![Duolingo: starting from scratch or finding a suitable level](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/learning-duo-101-3.webp)

[Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/) · © Duolingo. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Find my level offers placement

- Distinguish assessment from practice attempts with hints.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/)

## How it works

Assess initial understanding

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-55-branch-1"></a>

- Assess initial understanding <a id="family-55-variant-1"></a>
- Assess unprompted application <a id="family-55-variant-2"></a>
- Assess solving processes <a id="family-55-variant-3"></a>
- Assess finished products <a id="family-55-variant-4"></a>
- Find systematic errors <a id="family-55-variant-5"></a>
- Test understanding with new examples <a id="family-55-variant-6"></a>
- Test after a delay <a id="family-55-variant-7"></a>
- Ask for confidence ratings <a id="family-55-variant-8"></a>
- Compare confidence and results <a id="family-55-variant-9"></a>
- Allow next-step choice <a id="family-55-variant-10"></a>
- Use explicit criteria <a id="family-55-variant-11"></a>
- Test in another context <a id="family-55-variant-12"></a>

## Design example

Solve a familiar problem type in a new presentation without a model.

## Context and limits

A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-101-how-to-learn-a-language-on-duolingo/) (id: source-872a30e434db6d16)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors