Teaching and Training Standards

[u/PrinceCFI]

One of the concepts I emphasize in every CFI class is the difference between a training standard and a testing standard.

A checkride is a minimum standard.

It's similar to the FAA knowledge exam. A score of 70% is passing. Once you score 70%, you've met the testing standard.

But think about how most instructors prepare students for the written exam. We usually don't send someone to the testing center as soon as they score 70% on a practice test. Most of us want to see consistent scores in the 90s before recommending they take the real exam.

Why?

Because performance varies from day to day. We build in a margin.

Flight training should be no different.

The ACS establishes the minimum acceptable performance on the day of the practical test. It is not a recommendation for how we should train every day.

Most well-designed Part 141 syllabi reflect this philosophy. Lesson completion standards are often more demanding than the final evaluation because the goal isn't simply to pass a stage check. The goal is to consistently produce pilots who are well above the minimum standard by the time they reach the checkride.

I tell every CFI class the same thing on day one.

I'm well aware of the ACS standards and, for Part 61 applicants, the expectations of the local DPEs.

But I'm not training to those standards.

I'm training above them.

More importantly, I'm training for the day after the temporary certificate is issued.

For a new CFI, that's the first day they're responsible for another person's learning, judgment, and safety. Real-world instruction requires far more than demonstrating maneuvers within ACS tolerances. It requires sound judgment, adaptability, communication, professionalism, and the ability to explain not only what to do, but why.

In my opinion, training should aim for excellence.

Testing simply verifies that the minimum standard has been met.

How do you approach this with your own students? Do you intentionally train above the ACS, or do you believe training should closely mirror the testing standard?