Uncertainty
Estimates are estimates
Every ability estimate carries uncertainty. Each one is stored with its evidence count and confidence, not as a single number presented as fact.
The science
A mark is a summary. We model what’s beneath it.
Two students can score 67 for completely different reasons. Unio reads the evidence under every mark, concept by concept, so teachers can see what a student actually understands.
Every estimate comes with its evidence. Teachers have the final say.
How Unio understands a student
Three kinds of evidence. One picture of the student.
Academic answers, the structure of the syllabus and a psychometric assessment each tell part of the story. Unio keeps them connected.
Academic evidence
Every question knows what it is testing.
Each question is tagged along several axes, so a wrong answer points to something specific. Every answer then updates an ability estimate for each concept the question touches, and that estimate keeps a record of how much evidence stands behind it.
- Tagged to primary and secondary concepts
- Cognitive operation, representation, item format and capability
- Per-concept ability estimates with an evidence count and confidence
The curriculum graph
A gap has a cause. And it has effects.
Concepts depend on each other. Unio’s curriculum graph connects 19,487 concepts through 51,529 prerequisite links, so a weak concept can be traced back to what caused it and forward to what it will affect next.
- Trace a gap back to the prerequisite behind it
- See which later concepts a gap will affect
- Concept maps behind every question in the content base
The Model of Mind
Beyond marks, how a student thinks.
The Model of Mind is a psychometric assessment built by a psychometric researcher. Its 151 items score 76 variables, matched against the 102 career dimensions of each of 148 careers and combined over time with academic evidence.
- 151 items
- 76 variables
- 148 careers
Mistakes as data
A mistake isn’t the end. It’s a schedule.
When a student gets something wrong, Unio keeps it. The concept comes back in spaced review, and it is only treated as fixed once the student gets it right on separate days, not just once straight after seeing the answer.
- Every mistake linked to the concept behind it
- Spaced review, scheduled per student
- Counted as fixed only after correct answers on separate days
Teachers stay in the loop
Unio suggests. Teachers decide.
A model can be confident and still be wrong. So every mark passes through a teacher before a student sees it.
- 01
Unio marks
Each answer is marked against your key and marking scheme, with step marks.
- 02
Uncertain answers are flagged
Answers Unio is unsure about are flagged for a teacher to check.
- 03
Teachers confirm or change
Any mark can be changed. The teacher’s decision is the one that counts.
- 04
Results are released
Students see results only when a teacher releases them.
Honest limits
What we don’t claim.
Measurement is useful only when its limits are clear. These are ours.
Evidence
One test is weak evidence
A single test can reflect a bad day. The picture becomes more reliable as evidence builds up across tests and practice.
Psychometrics
Tendencies, not destinies
The Model of Mind describes how a student tends to think and what they tend to enjoy. It does not decide what they can become.
Inference
No reading of character from answers
We do not infer intelligence or personality from handwriting or from a wrong answer. A wrong answer tells us about a concept, nothing more.
Questions
What people ask about our methods
Where does the curriculum graph come from?
We built it against the syllabus, concept by concept, and the concepts and prerequisite links are reviewed before they are used.
How does grading handle uncertainty?
Unio marks each answer against your answer key and marking scheme. When it is unsure about an answer, it flags that answer for a teacher to check. Teachers confirm or change any mark, and results reach students only when they are released.
How is psychometric data used?
It is used to personalise learning and to guide students on subjects and careers. You can read how we handle data in our privacy policy.
Do you publish your results?
Our methods are documented, and we are happy to walk any institute through them. Evaluation studies with partner institutes are being prepared, and we will share them when they are complete.