I believe Gee is talking about “tests” that superiors use to make sure we are ready for the next step in the process of learning a Discourse. The tests that are provided are just a safeguard that the teacher has effectively taught one part of the discourse and that the student “apprentice” has a grasp and understands what is needed of the discourse thus far. If a student isn't ready to proceed, they will be forced to look elsewhere for a discourse or to stay in that particular stage of learning the Discourse until they can master that part.
An example I know first hand is any of the language courses here on campus (But for my personal experience, I will use Japanese Class). Every week, we have two quizzes. The Friday quiz is a review of what we've learned earlier in the week. The Monday quiz is normally based on what we learned last week, but the other half of what we learned. For example: a Friday quiz focuses on grammar learned in the week while the following Monday quiz focuses on the vocabulary. Eventually, you have the Final exam in the class. The rule is if you do not meet a certain grade on the final, you don't progress onto the next stage of the class. So: it's the school's (and the teachers) way of making sure that if the student progresses, he will be able to understand and survive in the next part of the class (or Discourse).
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