Pass Rates

The subject of pass rates can sometimes be a rather thorny subject amongst driving instructors and what I intend to do in this blog is offer some guidance to PDI's.

Let's first of all look at the very latest available statistics that are  publicly available online from DfT.  If you pop on to the GOV.UK site and look for driving test pass rates in the search bar you will find there is a quarterly document published which contains in it many pass rates for various tests including car test (DRT02).

So at the time of writing this blog the latest available data is from April to June 2017.  It shows that there is an overall pass rate of 47% across the UK.  It is possible however to see how many are passing the driving test on their first attempt, and DRT0202 which refers to 2016-2017 gives that as 47.1% followed by a marginal increase on the second attempt at 48.4%.

So those figures relate to all driving tests being undertaken across the country.  You might think they are low?  But then again, if you have researched the pass rates of trainee driving instructors taking the qualifying tests you might think in comparison they are in fact not so low?  As is always the case with statistics they can be twisted and turned and published in a variety of ways, and so is the case with how they can be interpreted by the reader.

What they do offer though is a benchmark.  They offer us an opportunity to refer to a performance measurement which is being recorded in a stable and controlled format.  So one of the key questions that you have to consider right from the very start is whether they offer a performance measure of the instructor or the pupil, or possibly both?  This is an important point because what it does is it frames why the reader is bothering to take note of the data.  Let me explain.

If a potential customer makes an enquiry with my driving school and asks "So what is your pass rate?".  In my experience, that is a potentially troubling sign.  What the enquirer is in effect asking is, if I come to you, what is the chance of me passing my driving test.  A perfectly reasonable question to ask you might think?  Can you see how this kind of question, asked by a potential customer right at the start of the process is ALREADY putting some degree of responsibility for outcomes on your shoulders?  Be under no illusion here, that is precisely what is going on.  

When I reported here in this blog earlier this year that my local grammar school were disposing of lower performing students from the school, this is a symptom of an organisation that is literally prepared to break the law in order to sustain pass rates (grade levels).  Ask yourself why is that organisation behaving in that manner?  There is clearly for them, an awkward balance to be struck between maintaining high standards of student attainment so as to satisfy customer expectations vs treating each and every student with dignity and respect.

And so in our world of driving training, one wonders how customer expectations can affect outcomes.  Well, if a potential customer starts from the position of asking you what outcome is likely regarding passing the driving test, then they are letting you know in no uncertain terms that you are being monitored and assessed.  One could argue that is not only clear evidence of consumer power at work but it is only right and proper that a driving instructor SHOULD be held to account for their pass rates.  And on the surface this all seems quite logical, until of course you are the parent of one of the students who was kicked out of the grammar school due to your child not getting sufficiently high grades in an exam.  THEN you might hold a different opinion.  But I believe there is a much more important aspect to take into account, and as unpalatable as this might come across, this is a genuinely held belief of mine that whilst being unfashionable to write does not in itself make it incorrect.  

There is plenty of evidence around suggesting that driving training that is centred around solely assisting a pupil to pass a driving test does very little for the required development of a conscientious, continually improving newly qualified driver.  Coaching a Year 6 student to pass an 11+ test is not necessarily in the best interests of that student.  As such, it would be perfectly possible to have all driving instructors coaching their pupils to pass their driving test with no regard at all on the higher levels of the GDE matrix.  But the argument goes "Who cares?".  The customer, who after all is the person financing the training, wants a driving licence.  They are not interested in higher levels of the GDE matrix.  "JUST GET MY SON A LICENCE!"

Thankfully, I can happily report to you that I have successfully run a driving school not bending to this parental pressure, and my message to you as a PDI is, you do not need to either. There are very many people out there who can readily understand, accept and engage in my alternative approach to driving training.  These tend to be the people who put the safety of their son/daughter above the potential savings to be had of simply passing the driving test.

So the only time I will actually PREVENT a customer from attempting a driving test is if I feel there is a potential safety issue.  I feel qualified to make that assessment having the record of not one single accident in all the time my driving school has been established.  If a customer is adamant to go to test with no chance of passing, ignoring my feedback, then as long as they do not represent a safety risk, then they can go to test.  The option I give them if they DO represent a safety risk, is for them to present themselves for the test in their own car - that tends to focus the mind somewhat.

We can attempt to develop self-evaluation, risk assessment, self-awareness and we can advise our clients accordingly giving them the benefit of our experience gained over many years, but we can't control the decisions they make.... or can we?  Over the years I have heard of driving instructors who claim of pass rates in the high 90's percentage.

I took some personal CPD in 2016 (BTEC Level 4 Award in Coaching for Driver Development), which I qualified at the very end of the year.  So being very interested in knowing if that has had any impact on my pass rates, I recently wrote off to the DVSA asking for my formal statistics for 2017.  Unfortunately, they got back to me with my overall statistics since 2009.  I have re-requested the stats for the figures so far this year but not as yet had a response from them.  I will update the blog if and when I receive that data.  But for now, I am very happy to report an overall pass rate just higher than the national average at 48.53% and given my rationale above, not at all disheartened with my first time pass rate of 35.3%.  I fundamentally do not 'coach' my pupils to pass driving tests, never have, and never will (yes, I do sleep soundly).

I hope this blog has offered some insight into the subject of pass rates.  I do not for one second ask you to agree/disagree with my opinion expressed here but I hope it stimulates thought.  At the heart of my business is my customer, and I will do everything I personally can to assist them to develop life-long driving skills and confidence. 

UPDATE: On 11/12/2017 the DVSA gave me revised first time pass rate figures for period 01/01/2017-31/10/2017 which showed it to be increased to 50% which is 3% higher than the national average.  This is an interesting statistic as it would tend to suggest that by developing my pupils' sense of responsibility for outcomes has increased the pass rate by 15%.


Driving Instructor Training with BIG TOM (in-car and online)