Driving Instructor Grades - Is Asking For The Grade Of A Driving Instructor A Reliable Way Of Checking How Good They Are?

Is the grade of a driving instructor a reliable indicator of how good an instructor they are?

I've come across numerous "guides to finding a good driving instructor" which advise learner drivers to ask for the grade of a driving instructor and to only take lessons from the highest grade of instructor...is this good advice or not? I'll give you the facts about driving instructor grading and let you decide!

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) periodically check the standards of tuition given by all Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) and assign each instructor a grade which that instructor retains until it's time for their next check.

Driving instructors are graded from 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest grade possible.
 
That grade is based solely upon a driving examiner observing ONE HOUR of driving tuition given by an individual driving instructor every four or more YEARS.
 
Nothing else is taken into account when determining the grade of a driving instructor. The grade is based solely on how the examiner thinks the instructor performed in the observed driving lesson. There's no interview, written tests or other performance related reports such as the number of test passes or feedback from past or present students taken into consideration.
 
As of February 2009 (the most recent published figures I can track down) the percentage of driving instructors in the UK by grade was as follows;
 
Grade 1 - 0%
Grade 2 - 0.09%
Grade 3 - 0.76%
Grade 4 - 51.32%
Grade 5 - 31.03%
Grade 6 - 5.99%
Ungraded - 10.81% (newly qualified instructors are officially ungraded until their first DSA "check test" is done)

Any driving instructor whose grade is less than a 4 is subject to further checks by the DSA and if the standard of their tuition fails to improve within a very short period of time, they risk having their driving instructor licence withdrawn.

So, as you can see, the majority of driving instructors are graded 4 and 5.

I'll be quite honest here and say that I have some issues with the grading system.

As far as I am aware, no other fully qualified professional body is graded in this way. I have yet to read any "advice" suggesting that I ask a qualified plumber for their grade before I allow them to mend my leaking taps, or that I ask a pharmacist for their grade before I buy a packet of paracetamol to cure a headache :)

The trouble with driving instructor grading is that it's based on nothing more than a snapshot of performance. If the driving instructor is nervous during their check test (and it's human nature to be nervous when someone is watching your every move - especially when your continuing livelihood depends on the outcome), then that can affect the way they "perform" on the check lesson and may mean that what the examiner sees bears little or no resemblance to how they usually teach or interact with their students.

I know many grade 4 instructors who have a string of test passes and happy customers as long as the Great Wall Of China...and I know one or two grade 6 instructors whose communication and people skills seem alarmingly lacking...presumably they're just better at putting on a good show for the one hour every few years that an examiner observes them?

There's another problem with asking for the grade of a driving instructor which the "advice givers" conveniently overlook...and this one's a biggie!

YOU MAY NOT BE TOLD THE TRUTH! - yes folks, take it from me, there are some naughty driving instructors out there who tell porky pies when it comes to spilling the beans about their grade...and there's no way for a member of the public to check whether what they say is true, as grades are not published and the DSA will not disclose that sort of information.

As I said at the beginning of this topic...I'll let you decide whether asking the grade of a driving instructor is a reliable indicator of how good at their job they are...

;)

How To Find A Good Driving Instructor - Questions To Ask

What questions should you ask to help you choose a driving instructor?

Don't be afraid to ask relevant questions...but you need to know what you're asking and more importantly what the answers you get actually mean....

You may have seen long lists of suggested "things to ask about", including,

"What are your pass rates?" and,
"What grade will my instructor be?"

A word of advice about those particular two questions though!

The "driving instructor pass rates" question is meaningless for all practical purposes, as statistics can mean anything you want them to mean! I've heard driving instructors quote a "100% Pass Rate", justified on the basis that "everyone passes eventually". Is it true? Of course not...some people give up learning and never pass...some people pass first time and some pass after several attempts, so how do you measure a "pass rate"??????

A "pass rate" is only relevant if everyone is interpreting statistics in the same way...but they don't, so using a test pass rate as a basis for choosing an instructor is pretty pointless!

Much the same can be said of the "driving instructor grade" question. You wouldn't ask a doctor or a solicitor or a plumber or any other qualified professional person what their "grade" is would you?... so why ask a qualified driving instructor that question? The qualification process to become a driving instructor is VERY challenging and involves not only the ability to drive to a very high standard, but also to teach to a very high standard. Approved Driving Instructors (ADI's) have passed all three of the qualification exams required and they are also regularly re-assessed by the Driving Standards Agency to ensure that the standards of their instruction remain consistently high. Newly qualified instructors aren't even graded at all...

Examples of better "relevant questions" to help you choose a driving instructor include;

* do tuition vehicles have dual controls (and if you'll be learning to drive in the summer, air conditioning :) )?

* if you have any specific needs such as wanting a female instructor or an automatic vehicle etc, ask whether the driving school or instructor can supply your needs

* can you be picked up from one place and dropped off somewhere different (e.g picked up from work/college and dropped off at home etc)?

* are there any discounts available?

* can you have a reduced price introductory lesson to see how
you get on with the instructor?

* how long are lessons?

* what is the lesson cancellation policy? (you may well be charged if you do not give adequate notice if you need to cancel a driving lesson, so this question is well worth asking)

* will you be the only pupil in the car? (some instructors still "piggy-back" i.e pick up or drop off their next pupil during your lesson time...this is rare now thankfully but there are still some driving instructors out there who continue the practice...see "Piggybacking?" for more details)

* (this isn't a question as such, but having spoken to the instructor, you'll be in a position to know the answer) - can you understand what the instructor is saying? It's vital that you can understand what you're being asked to do
and be understood in return...

Further guidance on "relevant" questions you might like to ask can be found at - A Few More Things To Think About When Choosing A Driving Instructor!.

How To Choose A Driving Instructor

Lots of professional organisations (including the DSA!) often pass on what they think is "helpful advice" to those trying to find a driving instructor. Unfortunately, although well meaning, the advice they offer can sometimes be misleading and/or irrelevant.

I asked Peter Cary, Director of The ADI Federation and a fully qualified and very experienced driving instructor who specialises in teaching the disabled, nervous and those with learning difficulties to drive, what advice he would give to customers seeking a good driving instructor. Here's what he said;

"I believe that customers should be equipped with the "right questions" to ask.

The "right questions DO NOT include;

"What is your pass rate".

"What is your grade"

BUT should be....

1) Are you a fully qualified ADI? (Approved Driving Instructor)

It is possible to be taught by a PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) and to be honest some are very good, but unfortunately the vast majority never qualify as driving instructors.

29,000 people tried to become ADIs last year with just over 4,000 actually qualifying.

In fact in the case of one of the largest schools in the UK, almost half of their instructors are PDIs, easily recognised by a large red triangle being displayed on their ADI Licence displayed on the windscreen as apposed to the green octagon shown by a fully qualified ADI

2) How long have you been qualified?

A recently qualified ADI should be up to date with latest thinking, but may not have so much experience in teaching people to drive with various different techniques in helping clients to accomplish the task of driving.

3) Do you belong to a professional body?

Paying membership to one of the several bodies representing ADIs means they have the back up of a large organisation who can give them advice with problems they or their pupils may have with motoring law or the DSA.

4) Do you belong to any other road safety bodies?

A few instructors are members of bodies such as AIRSO (Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers) again demonstrating a strong commitment to improving driving for everybody.

5) Do you have any specialisms?

If the instructor teaches the more "challenging" members of society, the elderly, learning difficulties and disabled, they probably will have more patience than some who don't.

6) Do you have any extra qualifications?

You may not need some of the qualifications but the fact the ADI has gone out of his way to widen their knowledge shows that they have a commitment to their students

Some of the extra Qualifications they might have.

IAM/RoSPA membership
To belong to these organisations one has to pass a high standard of practical driving test.

Dip Di
This is a written exam in 5 parts that throughly tests the ADI knowledge in management of a driving school,car mechanics, motoring law, teaching techniques and of course driving theory, skills and procedures.

Banstead/ QEFH trained
This is a three day course devoted to teaching the disabled to drive, learning about "problems" the disabled may have and what aids are available to help overcome them.

City and Guilds 7307
This an adult teaching certificate that some colleges require before you can teach on the premises, but shows they have communication skills to impart their knowledge to others

Fleet Trainer
This is a voluntary register run by the DSA for ADIs to train FLH (Full Licence Holders) requiring an ADI to pass at a much higher standard than the basic ADI is required.

NDIS (National Driving Improvement Scheme)
This is as the name suggests a national scheme where drivers make an error of judgment, the police can offer a training course to improve their driving rather than taking the driver to court to be only fined and have points added to their licence, there are very few instructors selected to do this work.

SAFED (Safe And Fuel Efficient Driving)
This a government incentive to improve the driving of white van man there are approximately 320 ADIs out of a total of 42,000 ADIs doing this work.

There are more qualifications, but this should cover most of them.

You will be able to gauge what sort of instructor you are dealing with by the response you get to these questions, as most people don't know what to ask.

The DSA propose to make public the pass rate and grade of an instructor, which at first reading seems very useful information to make a subjective choice, however if you follow the thinking through you might not feel it's so useful.

There are lies, damned lies and statistics...

A) Grades
ADIs are graded 1 through to 6, six is the best grade, the vast majority of ADIs are grade 4.

With grades 3 and below the DSA will be taking action to remove them from the register if they do not improve very quickly.

However ADIs are graded by an examiner who sits in on ONE lesson and sees how they perform according to the DSA method of marking, we can all have a bad day, the examiner may have missed a key point in the lesson, it has happened that there has been personality clashes between ADI and examiner.

I know of many grade 4's that give wonderful training, make it fun for their clients and lots pass first time with them, I also know grade six instructors who shout and have a very short fuse with some of their students.

B) Pass Rates
The DSA used to send all ADIs their pass rates, but they gave up because no ADI ever agreed with the figures given by the DSA, there were instances of instructors who had been dead for over a year still getting pupils through the test - now thats what I call dedication!

Some instructors publish their pass rates, how are they working out their pass rate? Are they taking every customer on or are they "cherry picking"?

There is a recently formed driving school aiming at the top end of the public school market Eton, Harrow, etc and they are expecting their clients to have 4 times the average amount of lessons combined with plenty of private practice, I would be very disappointed if their pass rate was below 99.9%.

I believe if the pass rates are published it will hurt the more disadvantaged members of society as they will be turned away as "difficult" to teach and drag the pass rates of instructors down, or maybe even worse some instructors may take them on but have no intention of ever presenting them for a test.

Even though I specialise in this sector of the market and my pass rate is above the national average, if I thought it would effect potential clients considering me as an instructor, I would have to seriously consider if I would continue to accept them onto my books.

Raw statistics don't tell the whole story.

If you had a serious heart condition who would you prefer to treat you a surgeon whose patients had 20% survival rate or a surgeon with 99.9%?

The answer may seem obvious until you dig deeper, maybe the first surgeon specialises in the cases where the condition has progressed so far that no other person will attempt the operation, whilst the other specialises in "Ingrowing Toenails"!

As you can see there are lots of things to be considered when choosing an ADI.

Unfortunately most people think an ADI is an ADI and can be chosen on price alone, all the extra training I've listed above entails more cost and loss of earnings to an ADI so a more qualified ADI will normally be more expensive per lesson, but hopefully with a higher standard to training you should be better equipped to drive safely for life on the road.

The last question you should ask is
"When can you fit me in?" :) "

If you would like to find out more about Peter Cary, please see his website - Peter Cary, Driving Instructor - Specialising For Those With Disabilities Or Anxieties About Driving

For more information about The ADI Federation, please see their website - The ADI Federation

This interview was originally published on my webpage - How To Choose A Driving Instructor