Take an assessment

An assessment is a timed, graded set of one or more lab scenarios that a recruiter has invited you to. It uses the same lab workspace as any other lab, with a few differences: a countdown timer, no visible points, no check button, and grading that happens when the assessment ends.

Before you start:

• Accept your invitation. See Accept an invitation.
• Use a recent desktop browser on a stable connection, with enough time to finish in one sitting. The countdown does not pause.
• Read The lab workspace and Use the lab terminal if you have not used a Klastro lab before.

1. Wait in the lobby

Opening the assessment takes you to its lobby. It lists the assessment’s scenarios and prepares an environment for each one.

1. If the lobby shows Waiting for Authorization, the recruiter has not approved the assessment yet. Keep the page open: it updates by itself once they do.

2. Watch each scenario card. While its environment is being prepared, it shows three stages — Reserve environment, Start machines, Install scenario — then Ready. The heading counts them, for example 2 of 3 ready. Larger environments can take several minutes.

3. Each card also shows the scenario’s difficulty and estimated duration, for example Est. 30m.

4. When every scenario is Ready, the Enter buttons become active. Click Enter on the scenario you want to start with.

Note

The countdown does not start while you wait in the lobby. It starts when you enter your first scenario, as the lobby says under Start Whenever You’re Ready. You can do the scenarios in any order.

If a scenario shows Could not be prepared, you cannot fix it from your side. Contact the recruiter who invited you. See also Lab provisioning troubleshooting.

2. Work in the lab

Once you enter, the top bar shows the assessment timer, and the lab works as described in The lab workspace, with these differences:

	In an assessment
Points	Not shown. You are scored, but the numbers are for the recruiter.
Checking your work	There is no check button. Every task is checked automatically when the assessment ends.
Hints	Available, in a chain. Each one you reveal reduces your score for that task, even though the cost is not shown.
Notes	Available, and shared with the recruiter in your report. See Take notes during a lab.
Moving between scenarios	Use the scenario selector in the Instructions header, or Next on a scenario’s last task (Next Scenario? → Yes, continue). You can go back the same way.

See Tasks, checks and hints for how grading works.

The timer

Before you enter the first scenario, the top bar shows the total duration, for example Duration: 1h30m, with Timer starts on first scenario under it. Once you enter, it counts down in hours, minutes and seconds.

Timer colour	Time left
Neutral	More than 15 minutes
Amber	15 minutes or less
Red	5 minutes or less

There is one timer for the whole assessment, shared by all its scenarios. It is kept by Klastro, not by your browser: reloading the page, switching scenarios or leaving the lab does not stop or reset it.

Caution

Exit lab in the top bar takes you out of the lab but does not pause the assessment. The countdown keeps running while you are away.

Rules of conduct

Klastro does not set rules of its own beyond the lab itself; the recruiter who invited you may give you instructions with the invitation. Whatever those are, keep in mind:

• Your environment is the answer. What counts is the state of your lab when the assessment ends, not the commands you typed. Leave it in its final, working state.
• Hints are recorded. Every hint you reveal is kept and reduces your score for that task.
• Your notes are read. The recruiter sees your notepad in your report.
• Your terminal can be watched. People from the recruiting organization can follow your terminal tabs live, in read-only mode. They cannot type in your terminal, and nothing on your screen tells you when they are watching.

Webcam, microphone and screen

The top bar shows a camera icon labelled Webcam off. In the current version, the lab does not ask for access to your webcam, microphone or screen, and does not record them. If your browser asks for one of these permissions on a Klastro page, see Webcam troubleshooting. Recruiters can find what they can follow in Proctoring and supervision.

3. Finish the assessment

When you have done all you can, in every scenario:

1. Click Complete Assessment in the top bar.

2. Read the confirmation. It warns that You will not be able to return to this lab once you finish.

3. Click Yes, Complete Assessment.

The screen shows Assessment Completed and Your work has been saved and the recruiter will receive the final results shortly. A few seconds later you are taken back to the dashboard. Klastro then checks every task of every scenario against your environments and sends the results to the recruiter.

Danger

Complete Assessment ends the whole assessment, not just the scenario you are on. Check that you have worked through every scenario first.

If time runs out

When the countdown reaches zero, the timer turns red and shows Expired, and the assessment ends on its own:

• The screen shows Time is up! and Your assessment has timed out. Your work has been saved and the recruiter will receive the final results shortly.
• You are taken back to the dashboard a few seconds later.
• Every task is checked against your environments as they were when time ran out. Work you had already done counts, exactly as if you had clicked Complete Assessment.

Tip

Partial credit is real: each check a task passes earns its points. In the last minutes, make sure what you have done is in place and saved rather than starting something new.

If the screen shows Assessment Failed instead, the assessment hit a technical problem on Klastro’s side. Your work has been saved; contact the recruiter who invited you.

Related

• Accept an invitation
• Tasks, checks and hints
• Report a problem with a lab
• FAQ