This article describes the three components of a candidate's test results report:
First, to see a candidate’s results report after they've completed a coding test, click on the candidate's result.
The Activity Histogram
The activity in the histogram begins when the candidate first opens a task.
The histogram shows you how much time the candidate spent on each portion of the coding test, and when. So if there are 3 questions in the test and the candidate starts with the first, jumps from the second to the third, goes back and solves the second and then solves the first one, then finishes up with the third one, this will be reflected in the histogram and you’ll see how much time they spent on each.
The Candidate's Test Score
If a candidate doesn’t get a perfect score on an automated task, what does this indicate about their skill level?
This depends on what you’re looking for, so you get to decide what constitutes a passing score for a task! Have an engineer at your company who has a skill level similar to what you want to hire solve the task in order to give yourself a benchmark.
In order to receive full points on an automated task, a candidate must pass all test cases (both sample test cases and hidden test cases). Sample test cases are viewable by the candidate, while hidden test cases are not and exist to test edge cases. Partial points are awarded for passing all sample test cases and some hidden test cases, and no points are awarded if the candidate does not pass all sample test cases (even if they happen to pass some hidden test cases).
Keep in mind that if a candidate does not submit their code, they will not receive a score for that task. You will still be able to see their code in the replay, however.
The Similarity Score
CodeSignal has access to a huge database of previously submitted solutions, and our system is very good at recognizing plagiarized code. The system runs our comprehensive checks on every code submission you get for your tests. The similarity score you see represents the probability that a candidate’s solution was copied from code available elsewhere online.
If you’re interested in a candidate but see that the system says there’s a high chance that they plagiarized a solution, we recommend sending them another coding test. If their results come back with no or low percent chance of plagiarism, you can proceed with them.
If you would like to have the results of a candidate's test reviewed by CodeSignal team members, contact us at support@codesignal.com.