To successfully complete a course, prior knowledge may be required. Occasionally, the required prior knowledge is a big subject that students should have learned in a previous course. Occasionally, it is a number of smaller subjects that students can easily brush up on by themselves before or during the course.

It may be necessary to assess the level of prior knowledge students have. You can use a prior knowledge test for that. Based on the results, students can determine what they need to catch up on. There are several ways to assess prior knowledge.

With a quiz in Canvas with standardized feedback, for instance, students can assess for themselves how much of the required prior knowledge they have. If you offer links to study materials with the feedback and results, students can then start filling in the gaps independently.