How exams work
Orivian has four kinds of exam, from a few questions at the end of a lesson to a full-length mock of the real thing. None of them cost anything to retake, and every attempt teaches you something, because you see the right answer and why after each one.
The four exams
| Where | Pass mark | Time | Retakes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-exam | The end of every lesson, on that lesson | 80% | Untimed | Unlimited |
| Checkpoint | The end of each section, across all of it | 80% | Untimed | Unlimited, fresh questions each time |
| Practice exam | Certify courses: a full-length mock of the real exam (CISSP is 125 questions in 3 hours) | Shown on its start screen | Clock runs, never cuts you off | Unlimited, fresh questions each time |
| Certification exam | Essentials and After Hours courses: the summit, 50 questions | 70% | 30 minutes, never cuts you off | Unlimited, fresh questions each time |
Passing a lesson's mini-exam completes the lesson. Recaps and orientation lessons have no exam: reach the last slide and mark them complete. Checkpoints don't lock anything; they're how you find out whether a whole section stuck before you climb on.
The practice or certification exam is the summit of a course: pass it once every lesson is done to earn your certificate. See Certificates.
Fresh questions every attempt
- Checkpoints, practice and certification exams are a new draw every time, from a pool bigger than the exam itself. Questions you saw on your last attempt are much less likely to come back.
- Answer choices are shuffled on every attempt (except ones like “All of the above” that only make sense in order), so a retake tests what you know, not where the right answer sat.
- Mini-exams use the lesson's own question set, in a new order each time.
- Review sessions are a fifth, lighter kind of quiz for lessons you've finished that have faded. There's no pass mark. See How learning decay works.
Timers
Practice and certification exams show a running clock with the exam's time limit. Going over never stops you or loses your answers: you can always finish and submit, and your result simply notes whether you finished within the limit. Practicing at the real pace is the point.
If you refresh or close the tab during a practice or certification exam, your answers so far are saved in that browser and you can pick up where you left off. The study timer at the top of lessons is separate: it only counts time while a lesson or exam is open in front of you, and it's never graded.
After you submit
- Every question shows whether you got it right, the correct answer, and an explanation.
- Review answers on a lesson's row on the course page shows every past mini-exam attempt and the questions you missed.
- Your answers feed your course's study profile: your strongest and weakest sections, and the questions to look at again.
- Standout results earn accolades and badges, like a perfect score. See Streaks, XP and levels.
- Think a question or answer is wrong? Use Report a problem under it. It comes straight to the Orivian team with the question attached.
Tips
- Missed a mini-exam? Read the explanations, flip back through the key terms slide, then retake it.
- Take a section's recap right before its checkpoint.
- Save the practice exam for when every section's checkpoint feels comfortable, then take it under the clock.
Was this helpful?
More field guides
- Orivian BasecampThe short starter course everyone takes first: how courses, exams, streaks and learning decay fit together.
- CertificatesWhat earns one on each track, honors, sharing and verifying, and why they never expire.
- How learning decay worksWhy you forget, what retention and frost mean, and how review sessions bring lessons back.
- Streaks, XP and levelsWarm and cold days, every way to earn XP, levels, avatars and badges.
- Privacy and your profileWhat other learners and friends can see, what stays private, and what we store about your activity.