FAA AIRMAN TESTING STANDARDS AND TRAINING ARC PUBLISHES REPORT
Today, the FAA announced the availability of the Airman Testing Standards and Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) Report, which presents recommendations to enhance the content, process, and methodology for development of aeronautical knowledge testing and training materials.
The FAA established the Airman Testing Standards and Training ARC on September 21, 2011, with the objective for industry to provide the FAA with its experience and expertise in the elements of aeronautical knowledge and aeronautical experience required for safe operation in the National Airspace System.
The Airman Testing Standards and Training ARC made the following nine consensus recommendations:
- That FAA establishes a stakeholder body or coordinated bodies of subject matter experts and relevant FAA policy offices by September 30, 2012.
- That FAA revise the quality management system (QMS) process through which key policy offices make recommendations to the Airman Testing Standards Branch (AFS-630) about needed changes to training and testing documents.
- That FAA transition to a single testing standards document—the airman certification standards, to include knowledge, skills, and risk management.
- That FAA makes changes to the philosophy of question development.
- That FAA return the knowledge test item question bank to the public domain, by December 31, 2012, in a way that maintains the integrity of questions requiring calculations or interpolations.
- That FAA allocates additional resources to AFS-630 for an improved computer system (including both hardware and software) for development, maintenance, and delivery of knowledge tests.
- That FAA improves the feedback mechanism subsequent to knowledge testing by June 30, 2013.
- That FAA establishes and continuously communicates a schedule for publishing standards, handbooks, and knowledge test questions by June 30, 2013. FAA should establish a process through which high priority topics are identified and communicated to stakeholders by use of "hot sheets" that provide time-sensitive information critical to flight safety between scheduled publication dates.
- That FAA continue to administer a single knowledge test for each certificate or rating and not transition to testing and scoring individual required subject areas.
If you have any questions regarding the Airman Testing Standards and Training ARC Report, please contact our office.