Driving Instructor Pass Rates

Yep, that old chestnut is beginning to rear it's ugly head again.

People have just realised that the DSA seem to want to publish our pass rates along with all other info about us they can dredge up. The argument may never be held unless someone starts shouting about it, so maybe I'll start.

If someone phones me up and asks my pass rate I tell them it's frickin awful.

Then wait for the gasp of astonishment.

I ask people what they've been quoted and I get replies of 75%, 90%, 95%. When I tell them that the best "official" pass rate I've ever had hard evidence of was 72%, and he really screened his customers - no girls, no learning difficulties, and as soon as he caught any nervousness he tried to fob them off on another ADI.

The average pass rate for a good ADI is around 60% in reality, because we can't take the test ourselves and I know some OUTSTANDING instructors whose pass rate is around 30% due to the way they work.

Specialist instructors for people with disabilities, instructors who deal with nervous customers, auto instructors who mainly get women and people who struggle with handling a car all have lower pass rates than the average, but often are better instructors with more experience.

So next time someone asks you your pass rate - tell them it's shit! Maybe then we'll start getting people away from using that as a sales point.

Unfortunately when the DSA start publishing pass rates we may all be in trouble! If this is done without some serious caveats attatched I will stop teaching learners and move completely into FLH training. I'll miss it, but at least I'll have a 100% pass rate!