Retention Test Items (Draft)

Retention Test Items (Draft)

Status: AI draft, NOT VALIDATED (P5-02, #531). A human must validate every item before use [HUMAN-REQUIRED]. Source: the seven modules of docs/quickstarts/amber-to-rational.mdx, per the protocol in retention-study-protocol.md.

Each set has 14 items, two per module, so a learner who skipped nothing is tested evenly. Set A and set B cover the same constructs with different wording. Randomly assign which set is the pre-test and which is the delayed test. Score each item 0 or 1 against the key points; an item is correct when the learner gives all the required points. Do not show the keys to learners.

Items test ideas as the modules state them. They do not test whether the stage models are true (FR-14), and they never ask a learner to place themselves at a stage.

Validation checklist (for the human reviewer)

For each item, confirm and tick:

• The key matches the module text (cite the section if not)
• One correct answer; no second defensible reading
• Sets A and B are of equal difficulty for the same module
• No wording that implies a stage ranking or a diagnosis
• Understandable without having seen the module's own cards verbatim
• Reading level suitable for adult general learners

Record the reviewer, the date and any changes at the end of this file.

Set A

M1 · Amber/Mythic Orientation

• A1. Name three strengths of the Amber/Mythic stage. Key: any three of moral conviction, belonging/community identity, willingness to sacrifice and serve, narrative coherence, role clarity/reliability.
• A2. In Cook-Greuter's terms, what is the Conformist stage, and why can deviating from group expectations feel threatening there? Key: identity is fused with role, group and norms (1); so deviation feels like a threat to the self (2).

M2 · Rational/Orange Orientation

• A3. How does Orange differ from Amber on where authority comes from? Key: Amber places authority outside the self (tradition, institution); Orange builds internal standards and judges authority claims against them.
• A4. Someone says "only what can be measured is real." Is this the Orange stage or a distortion of it? Explain. Key: a distortion (scientism / Orange made absolute and defensive), not the developmental achievement itself.

M3 · Cognitive Dissonance Bridge

• A5. In Kegan's terms, what does it mean for something to move from "subject" to "object"? Key: what you were embedded in and could not see becomes something you can examine and reflect on.
• A6. A friend meets a fact that clashes with a long-held belief and decides the source must be biased. What is the difference between that response and revising the frame? Key: dismissing reduces discomfort without learning; revising the frame changes how one knows and produces growth.

M4 · Perspective-Taking Capacity

• A7. What is a steel man argument? Key: the strongest possible version of a position you disagree with, not an easy-to-dismiss caricature.
• A8. Name the three AQAL perspectives (persons of the verb). Key: 1st person (I), 2nd person (You/We), 3rd person (It/Its).

M5 · Authority & Autonomy Transition

• A9. Name three things that can genuinely be lost when an Amber authority structure gives way. Key: any three of belonging, certainty, cosmic order, clear moral roles.
• A10. What is "repressive transcendence" in the Amber to Rational transition? Key: gaining the new by denying the real value of the old, i.e. treating Amber as merely primitive.

M6 · Critical Thinking Foundations

• A11. Name the four parts of the Toulmin model. Key: claim, evidence/grounds, warrant, qualifier.
• A12. "That claim can't be true, because accepting it would make life unbearable." Which fallacy is this, and why is it a fallacy? Key: argument from consequences; undesirability of an implication is not evidence the claim is false.

M7 · Evidence Evaluation

• A13. What does SIFT stand for? Key: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims.
• A14. Ice cream sales and sunburn rise together in summer. Why can't we conclude that one causes the other? Key: a third variable (hot weather/sun) or other non-causal explanation; correlation alone does not establish causation.

Set B

M1 · Amber/Mythic Orientation

• B1. Name three limitations associated with the Amber/Mythic stage. Key: any three of authority dependence, in-group/out-group rigidity, concrete-literal thinking (difficulty with ambiguity), externalized self-evaluation.
• B2. Why does the module name Amber's strengths before its limitations? Key: learners at or near Amber may disengage or feel pathologized if limits come first; strengths-first is respectful and supports growth.

M2 · Rational/Orange Orientation

• B3. Name three strengths of the Rational/Orange stage. Key: any three of evidence-based reasoning, individual autonomy, scientific method, institutional reform capacity, meritocratic fairness.
• B4. Name two shadows or limitations of Orange. Key: any two of meaning deficit/flatness, reductionism, extractive economics/ecological blindness, alienation from community.

M3 · Cognitive Dissonance Bridge

• B5. What is a "disorienting dilemma" (Mezirow)? Key: an experience that existing frames cannot interpret, triggering reflection on the assumptions behind the frame.
• B6. What does Kegan's "holding environment" provide during a transition? Key: enough support to tolerate disorientation without collapsing back or fragmenting.

M4 · Perspective-Taking Capacity

• B7. What does "postconventional" moral reasoning mean in Kohlberg's terms? Key: reasoning from self-authored principles (justice, dignity, autonomy) that stand apart from any group's approval or authority.
• B8. What does the Rational stage add to Amber's perspective-taking? Key: the capacity to hold one's own view as one perspective among several (third-person perspective), rather than judging others only from inside the in-group.

M5 · Authority & Autonomy Transition

• B9. What is the difference between Kegan's Stage 3 and Stage 4 in relation to authority? Key: Stage 3 is embedded in the authority structure; Stage 4 has an interior standpoint from which to evaluate it.
• B10. What three conditions does Kegan's model say a developmental transition needs? Key: confirmation, contradiction, continuity.

M6 · Critical Thinking Foundations

• B11. What is a warrant, and why make it explicit? Key: the bridge from evidence to claim (1); making it explicit shows whether it is true and shared (2).
• B12. "Either you trust the experts completely or you reject science." Which fallacy is this? Key: false dichotomy (a binary presented when more options exist).

M7 · Evidence Evaluation

• B13. What does a systematic review add beyond a single randomized controlled trial? Key: combines multiple independent studies by defined criteria, reducing the weight of any one study's limits.
• B14. What is the shift from Amber to Rational knowing, in terms of the question asked? Key: from "Who said it?" to "How well is this supported?" (additive, not a replacement of trust).

Validation record

Reviewer	Date	Items changed	Items dropped	Verdict
pending	pending			Not validated