Template · Interviewing and selection
Skills assessment template
In short
A skills assessment template is a standard form for designing and scoring a job-related skills test, so every candidate gets the same tasks, instructions, time limit and scoring rubric. This template covers the test setup, task-by-task scoring with anchors, the cut score, accommodations, integrity checks and the evaluator's recommendation.
Skills Assessment Form template
Skills Assessment Form
Part 1 is completed once per role by the recruiter and hiring manager before testing starts. Part 2 is completed by the evaluator for each candidate. Score every task against its written anchors before calculating the total. Do not record observations unrelated to the task.
Part 1: Assessment setup (once per role)
- Job title and requisition number
- Skills being measured (link each to a job duty)
- Assessment type
- Work sampleJob simulationKnowledge testTyping / data entry testLanguage proficiencyRole-playOther
- Delivery
- Online, unproctoredOnline, proctoredOn site, supervisedLive during interview
- Time limit (minutes)
- Standard candidate instructions (paste exact text)
- Maximum possible score
- Cut score to advance and how it was set
- Approved by (hiring manager) and date
Part 2: Candidate details
- Candidate name or ID
- Date completed
- Evaluator name
- Accommodation provided
- None requestedExtra timeAlternative formatAssistive technologyOther (describe below)
- Accommodation details (stored separately from scores where required)
- Actual time taken (minutes)
Task scoring (anchors: 0 = not attempted, 1 = below standard, 2 = meets standard, 3 = above standard)
- Task 1 description and what a 'meets standard' answer looks like
- Task 1 score (0-3)
- Task 1 evidence (what the candidate actually did)
- Task 2 description and what a 'meets standard' answer looks like
- Task 2 score (0-3)
- Task 2 evidence
- Task 3 description and what a 'meets standard' answer looks like
- Task 3 score (0-3)
- Task 3 evidence
- Task 4 description and what a 'meets standard' answer looks like (optional)
- Task 4 score (0-3)
- Task 4 evidence
Objective measures (if applicable)
- Words per minute (net)
- Accuracy %
- Items correct / items attempted
- Other system-generated score
Integrity check
- Identity verified before or during assessment
- YesNoNot required
- Any irregularities observed (copy-paste, second person, unusual timing)
- Follow-up planned (e.g. short live verification exercise)
Result and recommendation
- Total score
- Meets cut score
- YesNo
- Recommendation
- Advance to interviewDo not advanceRetest permitted under policy
- Strengths shown in the work
- Gaps to probe in the interview
- Evaluator signature
- Date
How to use this template
- List the three or four job duties that matter most in the first 90 days and pick the skills behind them.
- Design tasks that mirror real work at real difficulty, such as a sample spreadsheet, a customer email or a simulated call, and write the exact instructions every candidate will see.
- Write a 'meets standard' anchor for each task before anyone takes the test, and set the cut score with the hiring manager.
- Pilot the assessment on two or three current employees who perform well and adjust anything they found confusing or that took far longer than planned.
- Send every candidate the same instructions, time limit and accommodation contact, and record any accommodation provided.
- Score each task against its anchor with notes on what the candidate actually did, then total the score and compare it to the cut line.
- Pass the gaps to the interviewer as follow-up topics, and review pass rates by group after each hiring wave.
What a skills assessment should measure
A skills assessment asks candidates to show they can do part of the job, rather than describe it. The best ones look like the work: a claims processor reviews three sample claims, a payroll specialist reconciles a short register with two planted errors, a customer service agent handles a recorded call scenario. Tests that look like the job are easier for candidates to accept and easier to defend as job-related.
Keep the test narrow. Two or three tasks covering the skills that most separate good performers from weak ones beat a 90-minute battery. Anything the new hire will learn in training week should not be on it. This form is the paper trail for that design: what was tested, why, how it was scored and who decided. Pair it with an interview scorecard so the interview probes what the test could not show.
Setting the cut score
A cut score is a decision, not a statistic you discover. Two practical ways to set one:
- Benchmark current employees. Have 8 to 10 solid performers take the test. If most score 70 to 85 percent, a cut around 60 to 65 percent is a sensible starting point for new hires.
- Expert judgment. Have the hiring manager and two experienced team members go task by task and agree the score a minimally qualified new hire would earn.
Then watch the results. If 90 percent of candidates pass, the test is not screening. If 15 percent pass and the class still does not fill, the bar or the test is wrong for your labor market. Document how the cut was set on Part 1 of the form; that note matters if the test is ever challenged. The guide on how to conduct skill-based assessments in recruitment goes further on test design.
Legal and fairness notes
Under Title VII and the EEOC's Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, a test that screens out a protected group at a substantially higher rate must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The common screening check is the four-fifths rule: if one group's pass rate is less than 80 percent of the highest group's rate, look closely at the test. Tie each task to a documented job duty, apply the same test the same way to everyone, and keep results for at least one year (two years for many federal contractors).
The ADA requires reasonable accommodation in testing, such as extra time, a screen reader-compatible format or a quiet room, unless the test is measuring the exact skill the accommodation would change. Keep accommodation details separate from scoring where possible. If an automated tool scores the test, local rules such as New York City Local Law 144 may require a bias audit and candidate notice. Rules vary by state and country.
Common mistakes
- Testing for the job you wish you had. A test harder than the actual work screens out people who would have done fine.
- Unpaid real work. Asking candidates to complete actual client deliverables raises fairness and sometimes wage concerns. Use realistic samples instead.
- No anchors. Without written anchors, two evaluators can give the same work a 1 and a 3.
- Hours-long take-homes for hourly roles. Completion drops sharply when an assessment runs past about 20 to 30 minutes for frontline jobs.
- Never revisiting it. Compare assessment scores with 90-day performance at least once a year and drop tasks that predict nothing.
Running assessments at volume
For high-volume roles, put the assessment early, right after a short application, and keep it to about 15 to 25 minutes on a phone. A contact center hiring 40 agents a month might use a typing and accuracy check, a short reading comprehension task and a recorded customer scenario, auto-scored against the cut line so recruiters only review candidates near the boundary.
Build the steps as a sequence so passing candidates move straight to scheduling while the interest is still there. Assessment flows and an assessments library can handle the routing and scoring, but the design work on this form still comes first: the right tasks, written anchors and a defensible cut score.
Frequently asked questions
What is a skills test template?
It is a standard form that records which job skills are being tested, the tasks and instructions, the time limit, how each task is scored and the cut score, so every candidate is assessed the same way and the result is documented.
How long should a pre-employment skills assessment be?
For hourly and frontline roles, typically 15 to 30 minutes. For professional roles, 30 to 60 minutes. Longer take-home tasks should be rare, clearly scoped and, for substantial work, paid or replaced with a live exercise.
What is the difference between a skills evaluation form and an interview scorecard?
A skills evaluation form scores what a candidate produced on a task or test. An interview scorecard scores what they said in an interview. Many teams use both: the test shows ability, and the interview probes judgment and the gaps the test revealed.
Are pre-employment assessments legal?
Yes, when they are job-related and consistent with business necessity, applied consistently and offered with reasonable accommodations. Employers should monitor pass rates for adverse impact and keep records. State and local rules on automated tools may add requirements.
Should candidates be allowed to retake a skills test?
Set a written retest policy, for example one retest after 90 days, and apply it to everyone. Allowing ad hoc retests for some candidates and not others creates inconsistency.
Can I use a pre-employment assessment form for internal candidates?
Yes. Use the same tasks and cut score for internal and external applicants for the same role, so the comparison is fair and documented.