EVIDENCE BEFORE BADGES

Show what you understand.

A human mentor assesses your work across five dimensions. All five need level 3 or above for mission mastery. XP and quiz completion recognise practice; they do not establish mastery.

1 Supported · 2 Developing · 3 Independent · 4 Transfer
Dimension1 · Supported2 · Developing3 · Independent4 · Transfer
Evidence & reasoningIdentifies a claim with guidance.Uses some evidence but misses a limitation or comparison.Uses traceable evidence, explains alternatives and limits the conclusion.Transfers the reasoning to a new context and tests uncertainty.
Solution & testingFollows a supplied example with support.Makes a working version with incomplete tests.Meets stated criteria, tests edge cases and justifies a revision.Adapts to a new constraint and produces a reusable handover.
Leadership & collaborationTakes part with reminders.Completes a role but needs help with disagreement or inclusion.Listens, shares responsibility and records their own contribution.Helps others work independently and resolves new team constraints.
CommunicationDescribes an output with prompting.Explains some choices but evidence or units are unclear.Explains choices clearly with evidence, units and appropriate sources.Adapts the explanation for a new audience and answers challenges accurately.
Responsible practiceRecognises a risk when prompted.Uses safeguards inconsistently or incompletely credits help.Protects privacy, credits people and tools, and states limitations.Anticipates new risks and improves safeguards without overstating certainty.

Feedback you can act on

A review should name an evidence-linked strength, identify a gap, and give a concrete next step. Keep earlier versions and submit a revision so the change is visible.

Example: “Your three repeat readings are traceable. The missing-reading case is not tested. Add that test and explain what the user should see.”

Fairness and review

Use the mission criteria, not confidence, presentation polish or access to expensive equipment. A different mentor must assess a mentor's own submission.

If a rating seems inconsistent with your evidence, contact the academy with the mission and criterion you want reviewed. The owner can arrange a second human review. This is a human process, not an automated appeal decision.

Checkpoints and moderation

After mission 4, review the problem brief and measurement plan. After mission 8, review the financial model, AI evaluation and test log. At the final showcase, ask each learner to explain a decision, a failure and a new constraint individually.

Before a cohort starts, mentors should score the same sample, compare reasons and agree what independent work looks like. Use matched starting and final tasks to understand progress; do not claim proven learning gains without evidence.