quantitative tests of skills that are good for me to have.
If you can find a way to quantify “good for me to have”, you’re 99.9% of the way there. And probably in the running for a Nobel in economics.
On the object level, there are tons of knowledge tests—there are free exams with almost all online courses, many topics have online quizzes, it’s pretty easy to make flashcards, etc. Skill testing is a bit harder, but there are programming contests and challenges, many professions have contests and awards, etc. But really, for a lot of things, the testing is in the doing. If making stuff is the skill, make stuff. If winning pub quizzes is the skill, play pub quizzes. If learning a language is the skill, transact discussions or business in that language.
This is an unsatisfying answer, as most don’t have a very tight game-like feedback loop. I think there’s a ton of value in study aids and the like that are game-y and have proxy-quantification (scoring the test, not scoring the usefulness of the skill/knowledge). Beware Goodhart, of course, but I look forward to everyone’s suggestions about their favorites.
If you can find a way to quantify “good for me to have”, you’re 99.9% of the way there. And probably in the running for a Nobel in economics.
On the object level, there are tons of knowledge tests—there are free exams with almost all online courses, many topics have online quizzes, it’s pretty easy to make flashcards, etc. Skill testing is a bit harder, but there are programming contests and challenges, many professions have contests and awards, etc. But really, for a lot of things, the testing is in the doing. If making stuff is the skill, make stuff. If winning pub quizzes is the skill, play pub quizzes. If learning a language is the skill, transact discussions or business in that language.
This is an unsatisfying answer, as most don’t have a very tight game-like feedback loop. I think there’s a ton of value in study aids and the like that are game-y and have proxy-quantification (scoring the test, not scoring the usefulness of the skill/knowledge). Beware Goodhart, of course, but I look forward to everyone’s suggestions about their favorites.