How the readiness score works
Formula v2, exactly as the product computes it — with a worked example calculated from the same weights the code uses, so this page cannot drift from the score you see.
December Code runs one loop: assess, diagnose, practise, improve, retake. The number at the centre of it is the readiness score, and a number people act on has to be explainable. This page shows the arithmetic, what feeds it, what deliberately does not, and what the number claims — and does not claim — about you.
The sitting
A diagnostic is 10 questions in one subject, one question per topic, ramped easy to hard. The picker prefers topics you have not been assessed on and questions you have not seen, so a subject with more topics than 10 is covered over successive sittings rather than re-asked. Most questions are multiple choice; some are short answers — a query or a line of code — that you write and then mark yourself against the model answer.
The formula
score = Σ(weight × correct) ÷ Σ(weight) × 100
Every multiple-choice question carries a weight by difficulty — easy 1, medium 2, hard 3. You earn a question’s weight by answering it correctly; the score is the weight you earned as a share of the weight on offer, out of 100. An unanswered question counts as wrong. A sitting with no multiple-choice question at all has no score — the page says “Not enough MCQ data yet” rather than showing a zero.
Scored from MCQ answers only. Short answers are marked by you against the model answer, so they're counted separately and never move the score.
A worked example
Say a sitting graded 7 multiple-choice questions like this (the numbers below are computed from the weights above, not typed in):
| Difficulty | Weight | Asked | Correct | Weight earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| easy | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 × 1 = 2 |
| medium | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 × 2 = 4 |
| hard | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 × 3 = 0 |
| Total: 6 earned of 12 on offer | 6 ÷ 12 × 100 = 50 | |||
That sitting scores 50/100, which falls in the Building band: “You know some of this well, but several topics need focused work before interviews.” The same arithmetic is printed under every score in the product.
Why short answers don’t move the score
A short answer is marked by you, against the model answer. That is the most useful way to learn a query — you see exactly where yours differs — but a number meant to be read as “where you stand” cannot rest on a self-report. So short answers are counted alongside the score (asked, and how many you marked right) and shown, and never inside it. That was the change from formula v1 to v2.
Bands and topic status
The score maps to a band, checked from the top:
- Strong — 85 and above. Fundamentals are solid across topics. Keep sharp with practice on harder questions.
- Ready — 65 and above. Core concepts are in place. Close the remaining gaps below to be consistent under pressure.
- Building — 40 and above. You know some of this well, but several topics need focused work before interviews.
- Needs work — 0 and above. Start with the weakest topics in your roadmap and rebuild from fundamentals.
Each topic gets the same formula restricted to its own questions and a status: weak below 50, stable at 80 and above, developing in between. A topic scored from fewer than 3 attempts is drawn faded on the readiness map: one question is a hint, not a verdict.
From score to diagnosis
The diagnosis ranks what to fix. Every topic with at least one graded attempt — from diagnostics and practice alike — gets a mastery score and a tier: high priority below 50, medium up to 79, stable from 80; untested topics are listed, not ranked. Within a tier, the lower score comes first, and ties go to the topic with more evidence behind it, then to the one with more questions available to practise. The top of the list is your primary gap; today’s fix is a practice set sized around it.
Retakes and the overall figure
A retake prefers topics and questions the last sitting could not test, so it measures learning rather than memory; the trend across sittings is the honest picture. The overall readiness figure on the dashboard is the plain mean of each assessed subject’s latest score — subjects you have not assessed are left out rather than counted as zero, so the number reflects what you have actually been tested on.
What the number does not claim
- It is a measurement of 10 questions in one sitting, not a prediction about you or an interview.
- It says nothing about employment. December Code does not recruit or place, and no company sees your scores.
- It is not comparable to other people’s scores in any meaningful way; the useful comparison is with your own last sitting.
- It does not cover subjects the product does not assess — verbal ability, live coding rounds, HR interviews.
Straight answers
- Can I game it by only answering easy questions?
- No — every question in the sitting counts, unanswered ones as wrong, and hard questions carry three times the weight of easy ones.
- Why did my score change when I only practised?
- It didn’t. Practice moves topic mastery and the priority tiers; the readiness score moves only when you sit a diagnostic.
- What does free include?
- 1 diagnostic a month and 15 problems a day, every subject, every explanation. Paid — ₹299 / month or ₹2,499 / year — adds unlimited retakes and practice, the personalised roadmap and mock tests. Pricing.
- Will the formula change?
- Possibly, and this page changes with it; the version label on every score says which formula produced it.
Measure it
See your own arithmetic.
10 questions in one subject, about fifteen minutes, the score with its working shown. Free: 1 diagnostic a month and 15 problems a day. No card.