37 - Quarterly Exams and Defenses (Written + Practical + Oral)¶
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You cannot claim elite mastery without recurring, strict assessments.
Exam model¶
Every quarter run three components: 1. Written exam (90 minutes) 2. Practical build/fix exam (4 to 6 hours) 3. Oral defense (45 to 60 minutes)
Scoring model¶
- Written: 30%
- Practical: 50%
- Oral defense: 20%
- Pass threshold: 85% overall and no component below 75%.
Written exam blueprint¶
Include scenario-based prompts on: - Python internals and runtime behavior - Data structures and algorithmic complexity - Reliability and error handling design - SQL and transaction safety - Security and secrets handling
Practical exam blueprint¶
Use one constrained task: - Ingest + transform + serve + monitor a realistic dataset - Add test suite, lint/format checks, logging, and runbook - Simulate one failure mode and recover
Oral defense blueprint¶
Candidate must explain: - architecture tradeoffs - rejected alternatives - failure boundaries - rollout and rollback plan
Remediation rules¶
If fail: 1. Log root cause by category (knowledge, execution, communication). 2. Assign 2-week remediation sprint. 3. Re-test only failed component after sprint.