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Assessments

An assessment is a structured evaluation that measures a candidate’s ability to use AI tools effectively for knowledge work. Think of it as a realistic work sample test - but instead of a whiteboard coding exercise, candidates produce real deliverables with AI assistance.

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What’s in an assessment?

Each assessment contains:
  • Phases: A fixed three-phase model set by Gradient (see below). You edit the Task phase; the Explore and Reflection phases are fixed.
  • Task brief: The realistic work prompt for the Task phase (for example, “Create a product strategy deck for entering the European market”).
  • Deliverable type: The output format the candidate produces: presentation (pptx), document (docx), email, or an AI workflow.
  • Connectors & data: The data sources a candidate’s AI can search (some useful, some distractors). Configured in the build wizard’s Data step. See Connectors.
  • Candidate permissions: What candidates may do during the assessment (see Candidate permissions).
  • Admin guide: Reviewer-facing notes (overview, what good looks like, pitfalls, buried info) that calibrate scoring.
  • Scoring rubric: The criteria used to evaluate the candidate’s work. See Scoring.

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The phase model

Every assessment runs on the same fixed three phases. Gradient sets the shape so results stay comparable across candidates and assessments. Explore is an ungraded orientation window. Task is the graded work the admin designs. Reflection, when enabled, asks a locked, identical prompt so reflections are comparable. See Candidates & Sessions for the candidate’s view.

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Assessment lifecycle

1

Draft

Starting from a role, you design the assessment in the build wizard: the task brief, the Data step (connectors and seeded documents), settings, the optional reflection, and the rubric. Gradient can suggest a first draft from the role’s job description.
2

Active

The assessment is ready to accept candidates. You can invite people and they’ll receive unique links.
3

Scoring

After candidates submit, the scoring engine evaluates their work automatically.
4

Review

You review scores and adjust if needed.

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Templates

Gradient includes pre-built assessment templates for common roles: Pick a template as a starting point when you build an assessment under a role, or start from a custom brief.

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Signal vs. noise

A key feature of Gradient assessments is the signal/noise pattern in data sources. When you attach documents to an assessment, you mark some as signal (relevant to the task) and leave others as noise (distractors). This tests whether candidates can identify which information actually matters - a critical AI fluency skill.
A good assessment has a healthy mix of signal and noise. Too little noise makes the task trivial; too much makes it frustrating.

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Candidate permissions

Each assessment controls what candidates may do in their workspace. There are five permissions: The first two govern connectors; the rest govern the AI workspace. These map to the candidate_permissions object in the Assessments API.