Membership: We can help

Don’t worry, be happy

No one will ever know your score, but they’ll know how well you fly

By Craig Brown

Q: When I took my private pilot knowledge test, I scored a 70 percent, the absolute minimum passing score. I would like to try again for a higher score. Is that possible?

A: Yes, but I would urge you to think twice before making that decision. When you retake the test, you must again pay the fee to the testing center for the retake. Upon arrival, you are required to surrender your current test report, the one that shows your passing score of 70 percent. Whatever score you get on the retest will become your official score. If you score higher, congratulations! If you fail the retest, you cannot revert to your previous passing score. A failure would mean that at least a third attempt is in your future, which means yet another payment to the testing center. This could turn out to be an expensive proposition—money better used for flight training.

There are two schools of thought on this: 1. Any score above 70 percent is wasted effort, as they are all passing scores, and 2. Get the highest score possible so that your examiner will grill you on fewer areas of deficiency, as required during the oral test.

There is merit in both. We all like to score high on any test. It challenges us to better ourselves, and it’s human nature. With 7,800 hours of instruction under my belt in 33 years, my advice is to be happy with your score. Review the subject areas missed with your instructor and there will be no reason to fear additional questioning from the examiner, as you will be a confident and properly trained student pilot.

Questions? Contact AOPA's Pilot Information Center at 800-872-2672 or [email protected].

Craig Brown is a senior aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.