Technical Assessments

Overview

Technical Assessments in OpenATS help you objectively evaluate candidate skills before investing time in interviews. Create custom tests with multiple question types, automatic scoring, and pass/fail thresholds.

Assessment Basics

Creating an Assessment

Build assessments with these core properties:

Title & Description

Clear name and overview (e.g., “Senior React Developer Test”)

Time Limit

Maximum time in minutes for completion (e.g., 60 minutes)

Pass Score

Minimum percentage required to pass (e.g., 70%)

Questions

Add multiple questions with different types and point values

Time limits are enforced strictly. Once started, candidates must complete the assessment within the allocated time or it will auto-submit.

Assessment Questions

Add questions to evaluate specific skills or knowledge:

Set question title

The main question text candidates will answer

Add description (optional)

Provide context, code snippets, or clarifying details

Choose question type

Select Short Answer or Multiple Choice

Assign point value

Weight questions by difficulty (default: 1 point)

Set position

Control the order questions appear

Question Types

Short Answer

Open-ended text responses for:

Code snippets or solutions
Explanation of concepts
Problem-solving approaches
Architecture design descriptions

Short answer questions require manual review and scoring by your team. They’re ideal for evaluating thought process and communication skills.

Example Short Answer Question:

Title: Explain React Hooks
Description: Describe the purpose of React Hooks and provide an example of when you'd use useState vs useEffect.
Points: 5

Multiple Choice

Questions with predefined answer options:

Technical knowledge verification
Best practices understanding
Tool/framework familiarity
Debugging scenarios

Multiple choice questions are automatically scored based on the correct answers you define.

Example Multiple Choice Question:

Title: Which HTTP status code indicates a successful request?
Options:
  - 200 OK ✓ (Correct)
  - 404 Not Found
  - 500 Internal Server Error  
  - 301 Moved Permanently
Points: 1

Creating Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple choice questions require at least 2 options:

Add question text

Write clear, unambiguous question

Create options

Add 2 or more answer choices

Mark correct answers

Flag one or more options as correct

Set option positions

Control display order (or randomize)

Option Configuration

Each option includes:

Property	Description	Example
Label	The answer text	”Use async/await”
Is Correct	Whether this is a right answer	`true` or `false`
Position	Display order	`1`, `2`, `3`…

Multiple choice questions must have at least one correct answer. Questions without correct answers will fail validation.

Point System & Scoring

Assigning Points

Weight questions based on difficulty or importance:

Easy question: 1 point
Medium question: 3 points
Hard question: 5 points

Total Score Calculation

OpenATS tracks three score values:

Raw Score

Total points earned by candidate

Total Possible

Sum of all question point values

Percentage

(Raw Score ÷ Total Possible) × 100

Example:

Question 1 (Multiple Choice): 2/2 points
Question 2 (Multiple Choice): 1/1 points  
Question 3 (Short Answer): 3/5 points

Raw Score: 6 points
Total Possible: 8 points
Percentage: 75%

Pass/Fail Determination

Set pass threshold

Define minimum percentage (0-100) when creating assessment

Candidate completes

System calculates final percentage score

Automatic evaluation

If percentage ≥ pass score: PASS, otherwise: FAIL

Result tracking

Pass/fail status stored with attempt record

Candidate Assessment Attempts

Sending Assessments

Assessments are triggered when candidates move to assessment-enabled pipeline stages:

Configure stage

Attach assessment to a pipeline stage

Move candidate

Place candidate in that stage

Automatic invitation

System generates unique assessment link and sends email

Candidate access

Candidate clicks link to begin assessment

Attempt Lifecycle

Pending
Started
Completed
Expired

Status: Invitation sent, not yet startedActions:

Candidate can access via unique token
Link expires after configured time
No time counting down yet

Status: started - Candidate has begun the assessmentActions:

Time limit is actively counting
Answers are being recorded
Cannot pause or restart

Status: completed - Candidate submitted or time expiredActions:

Automatic scoring of multiple choice
Manual review needed for short answers
Pass/fail calculated

Unique Assessment Tokens

Each assessment attempt includes:

Unique token: Secure, unguessable access code
Expiration time: When the invitation link becomes invalid
Single use: Token cannot be reused after completion

Assessment links expire based on the expiry time set when the invitation is sent. Candidates cannot access expired assessments.

Recording Candidate Information

When candidates access assessments, they may need to verify their identity:

Name Confirmation

Candidate enters their full nameStored as candidateNameInput

Email Verification

Candidate confirms email addressStored as candidateEmailInput

This identity verification helps ensure the right person completed the assessment, especially important for remote testing.

Viewing Assessment Results

Access comprehensive results for each attempt:

Attempt Summary

Candidate information (name, email)
Start time and completion time
Duration taken
Raw score, total possible, percentage
Pass/fail status
Overall attempt status

Individual Answers

For each question:

Question text and type
Candidate’s answer (text or selected options)
Points earned vs. points possible
For multiple choice: correct/incorrect indication

Review short answer responses carefully. Automatic scoring only applies to multiple choice, so short answers need manual evaluation.

Job Custom Questions

In addition to formal assessments, add screening questions directly to job applications:

Question Configuration

Question Text

The question candidates see on the application form

Question Type

Short Answer or Multiple Choice

Required

Whether candidates must answer to submit application

Position

Order the question appears on the form

Custom vs. Assessment Questions

Feature	Custom Questions	Assessment Questions
Timing	During application	After application, in pipeline
Scoring	Not scored	Automatic or manual scoring
Purpose	Initial screening	Skills evaluation
Required	Optional or required	Triggered by stage
Validation	Basic validation	Pass/fail threshold

Use custom questions for basic screening (“Do you have work authorization?”) and assessments for technical evaluation.

Best Practices

Set reasonable time limits

Allow enough time for candidates to thoughtfully answer without feeling rushed. 45-90 minutes is typical for technical assessments.

Balance question types

Mix multiple choice (quick, auto-graded) with short answer (deeper evaluation) for comprehensive assessment.

Weight questions appropriately

Assign higher point values to complex questions that better indicate skill level.

Test your assessments

Complete your own assessments to check clarity, difficulty, and time requirements.

Review pass score regularly

Adjust thresholds based on candidate performance and hiring success rates.

Provide clear instructions

Use question descriptions to explain expected format, especially for code submissions.

Assessment Management

Updating Assessments

Modify assessment details:

Title and description
Time limit (applies to new attempts only)
Pass score threshold

Changing an assessment affects new attempts but not completed ones. Historical scores remain unchanged.

Managing Questions

Add Questions: Build comprehensive tests over time Update Questions: Fix typos, improve clarity, adjust points Delete Questions: Remove outdated or ineffective questions

Deleting questions affects scoring calculations. If possible, archive assessments instead of modifying ones actively in use.

Deleting Assessments

Removing an assessment will:

Delete all associated questions and options
Preserve historical attempt records
Remove from available assessments for new stages

Next Steps

Attach to Pipeline Stages

Configure assessment triggers in your hiring flow

View Candidate Results

Review assessment attempts and scores

Create Email Templates

Design assessment invitation emails

Generate Offers

Move successful candidates to offer stage

Get Started

Core Features

User Guides

Development

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Assessment Basics

​Creating an Assessment

Title & Description

Time Limit

Pass Score

Questions

​Assessment Questions

​Question Types

​Short Answer

​Multiple Choice

​Creating Multiple Choice Questions

​Option Configuration

​Point System & Scoring

​Assigning Points

​Total Score Calculation

Raw Score

Total Possible

Percentage

​Pass/Fail Determination

​Candidate Assessment Attempts

​Sending Assessments

​Attempt Lifecycle

​Unique Assessment Tokens

​Recording Candidate Information

Name Confirmation

Email Verification

​Viewing Assessment Results

​Attempt Summary

​Individual Answers

​Job Custom Questions

​Question Configuration

Question Text

Question Type

Required

Position

​Custom vs. Assessment Questions

​Best Practices

​Assessment Management

​Updating Assessments

​Managing Questions

​Deleting Assessments

​Next Steps

Attach to Pipeline Stages

View Candidate Results

Create Email Templates

Generate Offers

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Assessment Basics

Creating an Assessment

Assessment Questions

Question Types

Short Answer

Multiple Choice

Creating Multiple Choice Questions

Option Configuration

Point System & Scoring

Assigning Points

Total Score Calculation

Pass/Fail Determination

Candidate Assessment Attempts

Sending Assessments

Attempt Lifecycle

Unique Assessment Tokens

Recording Candidate Information

Viewing Assessment Results

Attempt Summary

Individual Answers

Job Custom Questions

Question Configuration

Custom vs. Assessment Questions

Best Practices

Assessment Management

Updating Assessments

Managing Questions

Deleting Assessments

Next Steps