The Student Room Group
Reply 1
no, there is no quota system. if you don't pass, you are not at the required level. get over it.
The system in place isn't to get a number of passes or fails, it simply monitors the pass/fail rate of an examiner against some statistically determined numbers. Deviation from these numbers flags up the examiner might be being too harsh or lenient.
If you drive to a good standard on your test, and make no repeated or serious mistakes, you will pass. This includes reacting correctly to the stupidness of other drivers.
Reply 3
No there isn't. However, there is nothing to say that if an examiner has passed quite a lot of people one week, then he may be harsher one day so that he doesn't pass too many.
Reply 4
tomoli
No there isn't. However, there is nothing to say that if an examiner has passed quite a lot of people one week, then he may be harsher one day so that he doesn't pass too many.


Indeed and this is where the myth comes from I think. However even in that situation you would have to be very borderline for the statistics to make any different to if you pass or fail.
Reply 5
no. imo its just an excuse
Reply 6
I've heared it all before "I went through a red light but it wasn't my fault because I didn't see it because there was a lorry in the way".
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
there is a system
everyone denies it but there so is
just think, 1,000,000 people take the test each year, and at £50 thats a nice little pot
its the biggest goverment money making scam there is
yes it is yes it is yes it is!!
Reply 8
If you do something stupid on your test then you fail. If you make no major mistakes you pass. Its the people in the middle that cause the problems. Examiners pass rates are compared to the expected avaerage, and so they may fail some of the borderline candidates at the end of the month, who might have passed at the start.

imho if you fail your test, then you need more lessons and you are not good enough.
Reply 9
No

(and i failed 5/6 times, each was because id done something wrong, not cos of a quota)
Reply 10
It's called the DSA Quality Assurance Process and this means that every examiner at a test centre has to be in ten percent (pass/fail) of the chief examiner at that test centre.
When you think about it- it can work both for and against you. So it evens itself out really.
Reply 11
no

just an excuse

i know someone who failed 6 times did they be so unlucky to be in the quota every time or were they just bad drivers
Reply 12
No.
Reply 13
Debatable.First test i definitely failed on my own fault. Second test i failed because i couldnt see round a bus (yes i was far enough behind, it was the curve of the street and where everything was placed that made it difficult) so i stopped far enough prepared to creep around and cars came the opposite direction so couldnt. I was always told to wait patiently if need be, better than a head on collision. Then as soon as those cars went i did my observations to pull out safely, but as soon as those 2 cars had gone, the car behind me sped out as he seemed to have no faith in the learner infront of him. Because he overtook me i apparently failed. With only one other minor on my sheet on gears because i went to change but didnt need to and left it, i was coasting. Other than that my sheet is empty with no minors, yet that failed me, something another car did. It may sound all 'boohoo i didnt pass im going to blame it on others' however this is the situation that happened and my instructor even saw it and they were mad they failed me on only that, when he had a student only earlier that week who had scraped another car and hit a curb in their test and passed, with another brush against a curb in their manoeuvre and fail on that with only a couple minors. I don't see fair reasoning for either getting the outcome that they got. Whether its quotas or not, there is still something wrong with the system, its not so much as you pass it means you can drive well, you fail you arnt good enough.
There is no quota, it's just disappointed people who can't accept that they failed their test.

If an examiner passed or failed loads of people, that might raise some eyebrows, but it usually means that they get monitored or perhaps have another examiner ride along on a test to see if they agree with their decisions.

If you failed, 90% of the time it's because you weren't up to scratch. Learn how to do what ever you got wrong, and try again. Occasionally examiners make mistakes, but nowhere near as often as people sitting tests do.
Reply 15
Original post by sek510i
There is no quota, it's just disappointed people who can't accept that they failed their test.

If an examiner passed or failed loads of people, that might raise some eyebrows, but it usually means that they get monitored or perhaps have another examiner ride along on a test to see if they agree with their decisions.

If you failed, 90% of the time it's because you weren't up to scratch. Learn how to do what ever you got wrong, and try again. Occasionally examiners make mistakes, but nowhere near as often as people sitting tests do.


Original post by Chaz13
Debatable.First test i definitely failed on my own fault. Second test i failed because i couldnt see round a bus (yes i was far enough behind, it was the curve of the street and where everything was placed that made it difficult) so i stopped far enough prepared to creep around and cars came the opposite direction so couldnt. I was always told to wait patiently if need be, better than a head on collision. Then as soon as those cars went i did my observations to pull out safely, but as soon as those 2 cars had gone, the car behind me sped out as he seemed to have no faith in the learner infront of him. Because he overtook me i apparently failed. With only one other minor on my sheet on gears because i went to change but didnt need to and left it, i was coasting. Other than that my sheet is empty with no minors, yet that failed me, something another car did. It may sound all 'boohoo i didnt pass im going to blame it on others' however this is the situation that happened and my instructor even saw it and they were mad they failed me on only that, when he had a student only earlier that week who had scraped another car and hit a curb in their test and passed, with another brush against a curb in their manoeuvre and fail on that with only a couple minors. I don't see fair reasoning for either getting the outcome that they got. Whether its quotas or not, there is still something wrong with the system, its not so much as you pass it means you can drive well, you fail you arnt good enough.


This thread is from 2008!