Mastery-Based Progression
The five-level difficulty ladder, unlock conditions, proficiency statuses, and the Hint Penalty mechanic.
Access to harder content is locked behind verified mastery. The engine uses five difficulty levels mapped to distinct proficiency thresholds. Progress through these levels is non-negotiable: the algorithm will not advance you until your performance data justifies it.
The Five Levels
Content runs on five difficulty levels (Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert), from single-step formula application to CAT-equivalent synthesis with high distractor density; Level 3 is the diagnostic baseline.
Level 1 (Beginner): Foundational concepts. Single-step problems. Direct formula application.
Level 2 (Easy): Two to three step reasoning. Standard question formats. Minimal trap options.
Level 3 (Intermediate): The diagnostic baseline. Multi-step problems with one non-obvious constraint.
Level 4 (Advanced): Complex constraint sets. Significant trap density. Requires deliberate strategy selection.
Level 5 (Expert): CAT-equivalent difficulty. Requires synthesis across concepts and robust distractor immunity.
Unlock Conditions
Level N unlocks only after accuracy above 75% at Level N−1 across at least 8 attempts, so one lucky session never suffices; accuracy below 60% over 5-plus attempts triggers a concept-library review recommendation without forcibly locking you out.
Level N unlocks only when your accuracy at Level N−1 exceeds 75%, calculated over a statistically significant sample (minimum 8 attempts). A single high-performance session is not sufficient: the system requires sustained performance across multiple sessions to confirm genuine mastery rather than a lucky run.
If your accuracy drops below 60% after five or more attempts at a given level, the engine will surface a targeted recommendation to revisit weak topics in the Concept Library before continuing. The engine will not forcibly lock you out of a level, but the recommendation is data-backed and should be treated as an operational signal.
Proficiency Statuses
Overall proficiency reads as four composite stages (Novice, Developing, Proficient, Mastery), aggregated across all topics and levels as a high-level indicator on the dashboard, not per-topic labels.
Your overall proficiency maps to four stages: Novice → Developing → Proficient → Mastery. These statuses are composite scores across all topics and levels, not per-topic labels. They are displayed on your dashboard as a high-level indicator of your current position in the learning arc.
Hint Penalty
Any hint-assisted attempt is recorded as non-mastery-eligible regardless of the final answer, because mastery must measure independent solving under exam conditions, and hints do not exist on CAT day.
When you use a hint on any question, that attempt is recorded as incorrect in your Mastery calculation, regardless of whether you subsequently identify the correct answer. This is architectural, not punitive. The mastery system measures your ability to solve problems independently under exam conditions. Hints are not available on CAT D-Day; therefore, hint-assisted correct answers do not count toward mastery thresholds.