Grading System
The following grading system will be used for all courses, when applicable:
| I | Incomplete |
| P | Pass |
| F | Fail |
A student will receive a “Driving Academy of Northwest Arkansas Certificate of Achievement” when he or she receives a “P” or “Pass” in Course #101, #102, AND #103.
A final exam will be administered towards the end of the 30 hours of classroom instruction. A student must answer correctly 80% of the questions to receive a passing grade. A student who answers less than 80% of the questions correctly will be assigned an “I” for “Incomplete”.
If a student does not pass the first time, we suggest he/she do any or all of the following:
- check out and STUDY one of our classroom textbooks, upon availability, for a seven-day period for a $30 deposit. This deposit is fully-refundable if returned in same condition within seven days.
- study any class notes, hand-outs, or suggested websites from the classroom instruction.
- audit without additional charge any future class(es) from Course #101 upon available space, on a walk-in basis.
He/she may take alternate forms of the test during other regularly-scheduled test times as many times as it takes within six months. If a student does not pass within the six months, he/she will be assigned an “F” for Course #101 and will NOT be given a certificate of achievement. No refund will be given.
Our professional driving instructors will be rating the student’s driving at the fourth lesson using a list of 18 driving skills to be mastered. Each driving session provides an opportunity to learn and practice the skills. To receive a Certificate of Achievement, a student’s final driving evaluation must include NO scores of “1” and no more than three scores of “2”. This means the student must earn a “3” or “4” on 15 or more of the 18 skills listed. (That is at least 80%.)
4 = Performs without any coaching
3 = Performs adequately but needs occasional coaching
2 = Performs but only with significant coaching
1 = Does not perform adequately even with coaching
0 = Has not yet attempted this skill
When a student reaches the above requirements, he or she will receive a “P” for Pass.
If after two of the one and one-half-hour sessions the student is not on track to master in six hours the minimum standard required for the Certificate of Achievement, a parent or guardian will be contacted to discuss options to help the student master the skills.
If at the end of the six hours of BTW instruction, he or she has not received 80% or higher “3’s” or “4’s”, he or she will receive an “I” for Incomplete for the BTW Instruction. The student’s “I” will be changed to a “P” when he or she meets the above criteria, but additional session(s) would have to be purchased to complete the process.
To prevent the need of purchasing additional driving sessions, please note the following:
- We recommend an integrated, correlated approach rather than an isolated, concentrated approach. This means implementing a consistent, balanced cycle of classroom instruction, professional behind-the-wheel instruction, and structured practice with a parent or guardian. We encourage the student and parent to practice at least 2 hours between the professional driving sessions and will provide assignments to help, upon request.
- It might be helpful for a parent to quietly ride in the back seat during their child’s driving sessions. (We have the right to withdraw that invitation on an individual basis, if we deem it necessary.)
- There is a time limit of six months for completion of this course.
When a student has not yet turned in the appropriate notarized documentation of four hours actual driving, with at least two hours at night, with a parent, guardian, or guarantor, he/she will receive an “I”. When a student HAS turned in the appropriate documentation, he/she will receive a “P”.
These four hours are required by state law, but Driving Academy of NWA recommends a minimum of 50 hours of structured, documented practice with a parent before allowing any teenager to drive solo. Even then, we recommend granting freedom gradually.
No grade will be given in this course, but it may be taken to help improve the grade for Course #102.