Your Chief Virtual Learning Architect

Learning to Performance

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Custom Design & Delivery

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Predictive Evaluation

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Enterprise Learning Strategy

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Dave Basarab Consulting has elevated the training experience, offering an end-to-end comprehensive approach that includes training strategy, instructional design, development, delivery , post program training transfer, and evaluation (via the unique Predictive Evaluation methodology). Virtual Chief Architect Dave Basarab has combined all of these individual training elements with his user-friendly, comprehensive Learning to Performance approach, which significantly increases companies' training ROI.

Why we are different

Innovation: Our primary focus is creating learning programs using a Learning to Performance approach.
Expertise: Dave offers the depth and breadth of his experience, including working internally at prestigious companies (Motorola, Ingersoll Rand and Pitney Bowes) as well as his knowledge and expertise as a highly-respected, sought-after consultant.
Partnership: Basarab collaborates with companies, serving as their own Chief Learning Officer whenever they need to plan, strategize, or implement training initiatives.

Training Services

Enterprise Learning Strategy

Enterprise Learning Strategy

At Dave Basarab Consulting, we're experts in creating Enterprise Learning Plans. We work with you to develop your company's learning strategy and direction.

Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom training is an effective way of developing the capability required to execute your strategy. We are a custom design house that creates programs specific to your business.

Learning Burst Development

Learning Burst Development

We can create and deliver your courses via our unique Learning Burst Method - keeping your employees at their jobs while receiving world-class training.

Predictive Evaluation

Predictive Evaluation

We predict the ROI for your courses and establish success gates. We then evaluate the course against the success gates to show value realized and continually improve results.

Leadership Development

Leadership Development

Turn-key virtual custom leadership development program that combines world-class leadership speakers/educators with post-event personalized coaching to provide you with a cadre of highly skilled leaders.

Predictive Evaluation

How to Choose Assessment Questions for Knowledge-Based Training

How to Choose the Right Assessment Questions for Knowledge-Based Training starts with a clear view of what employees must know, remember and apply. A well-designed question reveals whether learning has occurred, rather than simply checking whether someone can recognise familiar wording.

For Australian organisations, assessment design also needs to suit busy workplaces, varied literacy levels, distributed teams and compliance expectations. A short mobile quiz may work for a national retail workforce, while scenario-based questions may be more suitable for supervisors in Sydney, Melbourne or a regional operations centre.

The strongest assessment strategy connects question results with workplace performance. This makes it easier to identify learning gaps, improve course content and demonstrate whether training contributes to safer work, better service or stronger commercial outcomes.

Start with the learning outcome

Begin by identifying the capability each question should measure. Knowledge outcomes may involve recalling a policy, explaining a process, selecting an appropriate response or interpreting information. These require different levels of cognitive demand and should not be assessed with identical question types.

Learning need	Suitable question format	Evidence produced
Recall facts or terms	Multiple choice, matching	Accurate memory
Explain a concept	Short answer, best-answer question	Understanding
Select a process step	Sequencing, scenario choice	Procedural knowledge
Interpret information	Case study, data question	Analysis
Recognise a risk	Scenario-based question	Judgement and awareness

A question should have a direct relationship with the learning objective. If the outcome says employees will “identify privacy risks”, asking them to recall the date of a policy update measures something different. In Australia, this distinction matters when training relates to obligations such as the Privacy Act, work health and safety duties or regulated industry procedures.

Match difficulty to workplace decisions

A useful assessment includes a progression from basic recall to applied judgement. Early questions can confirm essential terminology, while later items can ask learners to choose an action in a realistic workplace situation.

Avoid making every question difficult for the sake of appearing rigorous. An entry-level employee may need confidence with foundational concepts before facing a complex case. Conversely, experienced leaders may require ambiguous scenarios that test prioritisation and decision quality. This is especially relevant when designing for age-diverse teams; multi-generational design can help align assessment methods with different experiences and learning preferences.

Select formats that reveal knowledge

Multiple-choice questions are efficient, scalable and easy to score, making them useful for large workforces and learning management systems. Their quality depends on plausible distractors, one clearly defensible answer and wording that does not reward test-taking tricks.

Short-answer questions can reveal whether a learner can explain an idea in their own words, though they require consistent marking criteria. Matching, ordering and hotspot activities can assess terminology, sequence and recognition of risk. Use each format for the evidence it can produce, rather than selecting it because it is convenient.

Use realistic Australian workplace contexts

Context improves relevance, but it should support the learning objective rather than add unnecessary complexity. Examples might reflect a Brisbane customer service team, a Perth resources site, a Melbourne office or a regional health provider. Local language and familiar situations can make questions easier to interpret without lowering the standard.

Consider everyday conditions such as shift work, commuting, mobile-phone access and limited time between tasks. A short assessment completed on a smartphone may suit field workers, while a supported session may be fairer for employees with limited connectivity. Questions should also account for workplace adjustments and avoid cultural assumptions.

Useful context checks include:

Whether the scenario reflects an actual task or decision
Whether Australian spelling and terminology are used consistently
Whether the question fits the learner’s access to technology
Whether legal or safety references are current
Whether the reading load is necessary for the outcome

Write clear and defensible question stems

Good question stems state the task plainly and avoid double negatives, unnecessary jargon and clues in the answer choices. A learner should lose marks because their knowledge is incomplete, not because the sentence is confusing.

Distractors should represent likely misconceptions or common errors. An obviously silly option weakens the item, while two almost identical answers can create ambiguity. For high-stakes training, subject matter experts should review every answer and document why the correct option is defensible.

Fairness also requires attention to accessibility. Use readable layouts, sufficient contrast and alternative ways to demonstrate knowledge where appropriate. In workplaces covered by the Fair Work framework, assessment practices should support equitable participation rather than create barriers unrelated to job capability.

Analyse results beyond pass rates

A pass mark gives a quick signal, but it does not explain what employees understand. Item-level analysis can show whether a question is too easy, too difficult or misunderstood. A question answered correctly by nearly everyone may confirm a foundation, while one missed across teams may indicate weak instruction or unclear wording.

Look for patterns across locations, roles and delivery modes. Results from a Sydney cohort may differ from those of a remote or FIFO workforce because of access, timing or prior experience. Predictive Evaluation can help connect these findings with adoption, business impact and return on investment.

Assessment data should be reviewed alongside operational indicators such as error rates, customer complaints, audit findings, incident reports or manager observations. A strong training evaluation approach examines whether knowledge is transferred into behaviour and whether that behaviour supports business results.

Practical review signals include:

Questions with unusually high or low failure rates
Distractors selected by many learners
Differences between new starters and experienced staff
Knowledge decay in follow-up checks
Links between scores and workplace performance measures

Build a repeatable assessment cycle

Assessment questions should be treated as part of the learning architecture, not added at the end of course development. Instructional designers, subject matter experts and operational leaders can agree on outcomes, review item quality and test the assessment with a small representative group.

A review cycle should include checks before launch, immediately after completion and several weeks later. This helps distinguish short-term recall from durable knowledge. It also provides evidence for updating content when legislation, systems or operating procedures change.

Organisations can strengthen this process by drawing on proven client experience when planning enterprise learning and evaluation. The essential principle is simple: every question should earn its place by measuring a capability that matters. Readers should remember that the best assessment is clear, fair, relevant to Australian work and connected to the decisions employees must make on the job.

Learning to Performance

Learning to Performance, a complete training approach, gives companies world-class training to drive significant return. This approach includes upfront work (Impact Mapping, design), training (for staff and company executives), and post-training efforts to ensure training transfer. This unique recipe - the key for successful training and adoption - is changing the way companies implement training. This methodology could work with any content for organizations in any industry.