From an academic writing point of view, what would "state of knowledge" and "knowledge deficit" be?

I haven't been able to find a clear definition on google, nor have I been able to make sense of how exactly they're used so just wondering if anyone knows what these two phrases mean.

I think state of knowledge is how intellectual you are, and knowledge deficit means someone that haves a lack of intellect.
IDK, that's what I think it is, English is not even my first language, so you'd better wait for someone else who knows more.

They're more likely to be defined in whatever text you're using than they are in a universal sense. Defecit of Knowledge is definitely "not knowing something" or "knowing less than others", but State of Knowledge could be many different things.

Let's do a quick examination of the words used here.

State: The particular condition that someone or something is in at a specific time: "the state of the company's finances"

Knowledge: information and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.

now state of knowledge from examination I'm guessing would probably mean how much you know of a certain subject at a particular time.

Knowledge Deficit would probably mean you are lacking in a subjects knowledge, because knowledge proficient would mean you are intelligent about a subject, if this does not explain your question could you please let me know what you are using it for, or who you got it from?