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Driver continuity test?

No, a continuity test wont tell you if you have bad drivers. If they are all wired in parallel even if 3 of the 4 are dead you will get continuity. quickest way would be a 9 volt battery touching your speaker wire momentarily and watch the cones for movement, this will also tell you if polarity is correct as they all should move out.
 
Battery test.

Wire up your cabs like you would to hook them up to the amp. Take a 9 volt battery to the end you would normally plug in the amp. + to tip and - to sleeve on the plug should make all the cones move outward. Flip the battery over so it's reverse polarity, and they should all move inward.

Any that don't move like the rest are blown. Any that move fully, but the opposite direction of the others, are reverse polarity and need their wires reversed.

That's how it works on most drivers. Some brands, like old JBL's were made opposite, so - moved them out and + moved them in. The important thimg is that all the drivers in your rig are moving the same direction at the same polarity together...as a team.