ADI Part 3 - ADI Pass Rates

ADI Pass Rates

The information in this page is presented to you as my own, personal view. My opinions are based on the many phone calls and e-mails that we receive from trainees who feel let down

At the time of writing this page (Sept 2005), I have an e-mail received a couple of weeks ago from the DSA's customer service centre

The e-mail informs me that the pass rate for part 1 is 52%, so a little over a half of all trainees who attempt part 1 ever get through. Lets hope they didn't pay a fortune up front, or that they can get a refund if they did!

It goes on to say that only 42% ever pass part 2, and that only 24% ever pass part 3

So, if we discount those who decided it wasn't for them at the part 1 stage, and we assume that 100 people train for part 2, only 42 of them will pass and go on to part 3. Of those 42, only about 10 will ever qualify and become ADI's. A horrendous figure

There are many theories as to why this should be . . .

1) the quality of the original trainees is questionable, with companies trying to train people who will never pass in a month of Sundays

2) the training is of dubious quality, with good quality trainees that the trainer couldn't get through the tests in a month of Sundays

3) the trainer was ok, but there was difficulty arranging lessons which seemed to be too far apart, and the trainee only had limited time in the 'hot seat'

4) Repeatedly practicing the pre set tests, with very little training in the required sub skills of good instruction

5) the negative attitudes displayed by trainers and trainees about ADI training, particularly part 3

6) that the tests are far too difficult to pass, and

7) the SE's are secretly told to fail far more people than they pass

I'm sure that there will be many more that you can think of, but these are the reasons mentioned most often, so let's think about them in a little more detail . . .

1) The Trainees don't have 'what it takes'

We've heard this excuse a few times now, and I believe it to be complete nonsense

I simply refuse to believe that out of our intrepid 100 trainees we mentioned earlier, that 90 of them 'don't have what it takes'

Becoming a driving instructor and passing the qualifying exams entails learning new skills and developing the skills that you already have. That is exactly how human beings learn to do anything. Everyone of us learns at different rates and in different ways. The art of the trainer is in adapting their style to suit the trainee, not trying to force the trainee to learn in the trainers preferred style

Human beings are born to learn. They are also born to teach. Millions of years of evolution simply can't be wrong! Everything you do in your daily life involves a skill that you had to learn, from getting dressed in the morning to the complex tasks many people do at work. People in general are extremely good at learning new skills, and as potential parents we are also extremely good at passing on those skills. If this was not the case, we would have become extinct long ago. Driving instruction is no different. It is simply a skill that can be trained

We have heard of trainers who openly state that perhaps only one in five people have what it takes to go on and pass

Utter nonsense! Any trainer who believes this needs to take a serious and critical view of their own training methods and their ability to adapt to the trainees learning style

I have no hesitation in stating my firm belief that the vast majority of trainees should have little difficulty in getting through and becoming fully qualified. Of course, other factors such as fear and nerves do take their toll, but an initial expectation of a low pass rate is dubious to say the least

I do agree that there are trainees who pick things up slower than others, but the fact remains that those trainees could achieve success in the right environment. We've proved it many times. We have had part 3 trainees who had become so dejected that they thought it was beyond them. They are now ADI's, so I totally disagree with this as an excuse for the pass rates

I do agree that there are a small number of trainees who find the skills of driving and teaching difficult to master, and who will ultimately not pass the tests. But these people are in the exceptionally small minority. It is only right and proper that a trainee who would fall into this group is told by their trainer at the outset, but this should be extremely rare indeed

There is a very old teachers saying, and it goes . . .

there are no learners who can't learn, only teachers who can't teach

I think that there's a lot of sense in that saying. I'm not, under any circumstances, suggesting that each and every trainee should pass. After all, we can train you, but you have to pass the tests! We can't do it for you

What I am saying, without reservation, is that this excuse for the low pass rates just simply does not wash. The vast majority of trainees should have little difficulty in qualifying

2) The Trainers don't have what it takes

This is a very difficult one to comment on

We have heard of training sessions with no lesson plan, no structure, no set aims and objectives, no specific objectives set in the role play, the trainer sitting in silence for an hour then saying "yeah, you're ok", full 30 minute mock pst's with the trainer offering no 'training' but simply criticising the trainees performance and setting no plan for improvement into action . . .

We've heard all of the above. Over and over again

I also refuse to believe that all ADI trainers are like this, and that all training sessions are of such poor quality. I'd like to believe that training attitudes and methods such as these aren't as prevalent as I suspect they may be, it's just far too sad to think that. So, I'd like to discount this reason as an excuse for the pass rates. No doubt many trainees will tell me otherwise

3) Difficulty arranging lessons and insufficient training

Aahh. Now I think we may be getting a little closer to the mark. Many of our trainees who had previously been with larger national companies have told us about this. It's not restricted to just one or two companies either . . . I have personally re trained many trainees at part 3 who were with very large national companies, yet they found the training to be woefully insufficient

In a couple of cases, the trainees had contracts specifically preventing them from getting help or advice from any other trainer, for fear of causing embarrassment to the company . . .

embarrassment to the company? . . . what about the trainee who'd been left high and dry, with no offer of extra training! . . . deplorable

A common situation is that a trainee ends their training period, which may have been sporadic, to say the least . . . then gets sent out on a pink licence, generating huge revenues for the company in franchise fees . . . then takes the part 3 test several months later, after receiving no further training. If you think this doesn't happen, I'd invite you to man our phone for a day!

A trainee rang a few days ago . . . he was at the part 2 stage, and had had a 2 hour session with his trainer. Two trainees were in the car, so he got about an hours driving. He rang the company later that day, to find that his next two hours will be in . . . wait for it . . . 5 weeks time! He's been told to go and practice what he's been taught so far, which didn't amount to much . . . great value for £2,800

It really is very common indeed to find that trainees had only 5 hours training at part 2. They then go on to part 3 without any firm knowledge of all of the routines used for manoeuvres. They then spend much of their part 3 training learning how to do what they should be able to do already

This is therefore high in my personal league table of excuses for the poor pass rates

4) Repetitively practicing the pre set tests, with very little training in the sub skills of good instruction

Now, i think that we are even closer to the truth

I have re trained many people who have had their training elsewhere, and I've spoken to hundreds of qualified ADI's who felt that their training was very ineffective

In effect, many of these ADI's felt that they passed part 3 despite their training

They knew something wasn't right, but were unable to put their finger on the root cause . . . a common theme is that all these people practiced the pst's repeatedly, they learned very little about the skills of good instruction, they felt confused abut what was really required, and a great number of them looked forward to each training session with dread.

What an awful way to have to learn something that should be enjoyable and natural.

Throughout this site, you'll find the advice of training to become a good instructor repeated over and over and over. Repeating the pre set tests again and again achieves very little in preparing you for the part 3 test

Part 3 training should concentrate heavily on the important sub skills, and the pre set tests have a very small part to play. A very small part indeed. In fact, the pre set tests are nothing but a test route for the SE

Regrettably for many, ADI training has traditionally concentrated on teaching the pre set tests as the most important subject. Unbelievably, for many trainers and trainees, the pre set tests are the only subject. This shows an almost complete lack of understanding of what is really needed

In my personal league table of reasons for the awful part 3 pass rates, I'd place this firmly and squarely at the top of the charts

5) Negative attitudes of trainers and trainees

ADI training is awash with myths and rumors, based on nothing but tall stories and a complete misunderstanding of what is actually required. I've heard so many trainers filling their trainees with such nonsense as . . .

it's really difficult . . . no one passes first time . . . it's just a game, you never know what mood the SE is in . . . I often wonder whether trainers believe this rubbish, or if they use it as an excuse for their trainees failing. Who knows

I can't say that this rubbish is a good excuse for the poor pass rates, but the completely negative environment certainly doesn't help. Trainees very rarely come to these conclusions themselves . . . they adopt the attitudes of their trainers. Guess what? Some of those who do manage to pass, despite these attitudes, go on to become ADI trainers, and the negative circle of myths and nonsense starts to turn again . . .

6) The tests are far too difficult to pass

Part 2 is a driving test, based on the marking system of the learner driving test . . . the standard that the government would like every driver in the country to aspire to. On Part 2, the SE wants to see a good level of skill, but the errors are marked on exactly the same skill areas as the learner test . . . even the same form is often used!

Part 3 is a driving lesson. Nothing more, nothing less. But, and it's a very big but . . . the SE wants to see a lesson of good quality, with positively stated aims and objectives, pitched at the right level, with good use of the full range of core competencies, and with the instructor showing good control throughout. Isn't that what you want to do every day, for the rest of your career?

So, as you've probably guessed, I'd discount this excuse for the poor pass rates as nonsense.

7) The SE's have an agenda to fail more than they pass

Well, I've had trainees who failed with other companies, telling me that the SE gave them a full and informative debrief after the test, and that they had the distinct impression that the SE wanted to pass them. In other words, they accepted the reason for failure as their own performance. They are to be commended for doing so . . . it's the only way to improve.

I've very rarely had any reports from trainees who said that they failed and found the SE unhelpful. The vast majority have told us that the SE's were superb . . . very helpful and very positive.

I have had this experience myself, and I've never met an SE who was less than totally professional, honest and helpful. No! I'm not a spokesman for the DSA.

I've had lengthy conversations with several SE's about pass rates and ADI training. They have all said the same things, and have simply pointed out some of the problems I've highlighted here.

Not too long ago, I had a trainee call me for extra training, because they had just failed part 2 for the second time. The SE had failed them for serious observation errors on a manoeuvre, and for serious errors in moving off from the side of the road . . .

He had been training with a huge, very well know company, and he and his trainer were convinced that his failure was due to a secret agenda by the SE, or the SE having an off day

We went out for an assessment session. I quickly discovered that a) the trainee had no idea at all of the observations required on the manoeuvre, and 2) had never heard of, or ever had explained to him, the very basic POM routine used to move off from the side of the road

No wonder he failed. It turned out that the SE had asked him to perform the manoeuvre twice, so she could see him do it again, and that she had also asked him to pull over and move off up to 15 times during the test.

Rather than being the ogre that the trainee had initially thought the SE to be, he now realised that he had failed for good reason, and that the number of times she had allowed him to demonstrate his ability were just an example of the many life lines the SE can throw for you. She was actually trying to help!

The trainee passed part 2 at his 3rd attempt, with the same SE.

So, I refuse to accept this as contributing to the poor pass rates

Conclusion

The world is a very different place, depending from where you look at it. I can only offer my view, which is simply based on the telephone calls and e-mails that we receive on a daily basis. Other's will have differing views, and no one can say that they are incorrect.

I'd therefore say, based on personal knowledge and the experience of assisting very many trainees, that the number one cause(s) of the low pass rates is a combination of training sessions too far apart, insufficient training, and trainers who fail to appreciate the learning style of their trainee's.

ADIT Team.