At Nyacom, we do a simple skill check before taking lessons. There are several skill checks for each level of proficiency, so the easiest level of skill check is done using the multiplication table in Chapter 4 of Volume 1 of my book “Let’s automate work with loose Excel skills”.
In order to quickly complete the multiplication table, it is essential to use the reference format properly, but I feel that beginners tend to neglect this reference format because it is not very noticeable as a function and behavior of Excel.
If you are an intermediate or advanced Excel user, you should be able to know how to use the reference format properly and how it works. The aforementioned multiplication table can be completed in less than a minute. Therefore, in order to determine whether the student is a beginner or an intermediate student, we check whether the multiplication table can be completed in less than 1 minute (or about 3 minutes at most).
I always say that you can’t memorize how to use worksheet functions in combination with worksheet functions or VBA programming, and that you should always think about it and move your hands, but I have a slightly different stance when it comes to reference formats. This is because there are only four types of reference formats, so it is possible to memorize them.
