Low completion was killing my leadership coaching track inside the academy. I didn’t have time to rework assessments, so I delegated to a junior designer. She removed the final knowledge check and left two reflection questions. Completion went 41% to 63%. We celebrated. Six months later a department head asked which behaviours changed. I had nothing. We traded proof for completion. Now I’m rebuilding a lighter check that still shows transfer. Don’t make that trade.
We cut assessment to raise completion. It backfired.
Case study
Author-reported results.
- Starting situation
- Corporate leadership coaching track with 41% completion. Lars had no time to rework assessments himself and delegated to a junior designer.
- What changed
- Replaced the final knowledge check with two reflection questions to reduce assessment friction.
- Result
- Completion rose to 63% in one cohort. Six months later, there was no data on behaviour change; department heads asked what the programme actually changed.
- Limitations
- Single programme, no control group, and completion was treated as success. The mistake was removing assessment instead of designing one that captured transfer.
6 replies
Audience: Public. Replies follow this audience.
0Bianca AquinoCareer Coach · self-paced coursePhilippines·Scaling·6d ago
You didn’t have a completion problem. You had a proof problem and made it worse.
0Rawiri MarstersProductivity Coach · Established CoachesNew Zealand·Growing Team·6d ago
Completion is the metric that matters. If learners finish, transfer follows eventually. Keep the reflection only and track anecdotal feedback. That’s enough for most sponsors.
0Fletcher MarsdenBusiness Consultant · Independent ConsultantsAustralia·Early Revenue·6d ago
This is exactly why I built my assessment audit for L&D teams. Thirty minutes, I map your proof gaps and give you the fix. Your case would fit. Send me a message.
0Eva MeijerFreelance Designer · membershipNetherlands·Established Solo·6d ago
Why do you need transfer proof? Completion is what clients pay for. Drop assessment.
0Xin NgMusic Teacher · group programmeSingapore·Scaling·6d ago
I tested reflection-only in a group programme. Completion rose, but six months later I couldn’t name a behaviour change. I added one small observable task. Proof came back without killing completion.
0Uche OkaforCommunity Manager · 1:1 coachingNigeria·Established Solo·6d ago
Once you personalise the assessment, completion jumps and proof appears. I do a 10-minute call per learner. It works every time.
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