MDPE.23:2.3 - Establish a baseline with plausible rivals

Test before more teaching. Include same/different or alternative cases that prevent answer-by-label. Record accuracy or another task result, response time when it matters, confidence, abstention, and the errors that would change the project decision.

Compare at least these rival explanations when relevant:

• the holder cannot perceive the signal;
• the signal is available but the category or boundary is unclear;
• the distinction is recognized but the required action cannot be performed;
• cue conflict, attention, fatigue, pair coordination, or current conditions block expression;
• earlier learning is retrieved only in its old context; and
• the proposed distinction does not support the intended use.

Do not call every wrong performance a recognition failure. A capable listener can identify a rhythm that the same person cannot yet play; a dancer can recognize a partner cue but lack movement capability to answer it.