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Driving tests

Hello! Can anyone reassure me that what my daughter has been told is not true? Apparently driving examiners have monthly quotas for passing candidates and if your test is towards the end of the month then there is a higher chance of failure. As a test is £62, it is potentially wasted cash by youngsters if the gossip is true. Thank you.
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  • weeowens
    weeowens Posts: 81,990
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    edited 28 October 2017 at 2:58AM
    Urban myth. There is no quota system. If you are at the standard you will pass.
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,551
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    It's a myth told/believed by those that fail.
  • uknick
    uknick Posts: 1,909
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    I'm sure this urban myth was doing the rounds when I passed back in 1984. And, no doubt, for many years before that.
  • They fail more on a Friday as it means less paperwork to fill out before home time*







    *this is also a myth that I just made up.

    If you don't find joy in the snow,
    remember you'll have less joy in your life


    ...but still have the same amount of snow!
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,652
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    edited 28 October 2017 at 8:28PM
    Hello! Can anyone reassure me that what my daughter has been told is not true? Apparently driving examiners have monthly quotas for passing candidates and if your test is towards the end of the month then there is a higher chance of failure. As a test is £62, it is potentially wasted cash by youngsters if the gossip is true. Thank you.

    Do you not think it would be a bit unfair if true ?
  • facade
    facade Posts: 8,218
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    What rubbish you are all spouting:rotfl: : of course they have "targets/quotas" just like everybody else in our "never good enough" society.

    Whether their "targets for improvement" will be number of passes, number of fails, monthly, quarterly or annually, I don't know, we need to find a driving examiner and ask them.
    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 9,229
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    facade wrote: »
    What rubbish you are all spouting:rotfl: : of course they have "targets/quotas" just like everybody else in our "never good enough" society.

    Whether their "targets for improvement" will be number of passes, number of fails, monthly, quarterly or annually, I don't know, we need to find a driving examiner and ask them.

    Their "target" system is simple, and is a matter of public record. It is not aimed at "improvement", but consistency.

    Each examiner's pass/fail ratio is monitored, to ensure it is not significantly higher or lower than his colleagues at the same test centre. If it is, then it is investigated and if necessary action taken.

    If there really was a secret quota system, it would have to have been kept covered for decades. During that time, thousands of examiners have come and gone, and yet none have revealed the secret. How likely is that, given that we couldn't even keep our atomic research secret from the Russians?
  • facade
    facade Posts: 8,218
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    edited 19 December 2025 at 8:30PM
    [quote=[Deleted User];73326137]Their "target" system is simple, and is a matter of public record. It is not aimed at "improvement", but consistency.

    Each examiner's pass/fail ratio is monitored, to ensure it is not significantly higher or lower than his colleagues at the same test centre. If it is, then it is investigated and if necessary action taken.
    [/QUOTE]

    So there it is, it doesn't matter what the candidates are like, you have to pass the same % as everybody else, or s##t rains down on you, so when you get close to the target point, passing or failing is pre-ordained to "keep the stats right"
    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • Thank you all for your replies. Nerves on Monday might be reduced! Monitoring examiners' performance might be the source of such rumours. :T
  • RichardD1970
    RichardD1970 Posts: 3,797
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    They fail more on a Friday as it means less paperwork to fill out before home time*







    *this is also a myth that I just made up.

    :rotfl: I was told (25 odd years ago) that you were more likely to pass just before lunchtime because there was less paperwork. :rotfl:
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