The value of using the ‘Score Card’ Record System at the end of every lesson.
Using a structured system such as the unique ‘Score Card Record System’ to record a pupil’s performance during a driving lesson is to the advantage of both the pupil and the driving instructor. Allow me to explain why.

Advantages for the instructor
At the beginning of the lesson:
Say for example that an instructor does forty hours of tuition per week and a certain pupil has one of those hours, then potentially the instructor has performed thirty nine driving lessons before seeing the first pupil drive again.
It would be an impressive/impossible feat of memory for the instructor to remember exactly what was covered on that pupil’s previous lesson and exactly how good they were at all of the individual topics.
By recording this information at the end of the previous lesson the instructor only has to look at the pupil’s individual Score Card Record sheet to see an accurate measure of that pupil’s progress. Additionally, the instructor can see the history of that pupil’s progress at a glance. If there are any recurring problems or plateaux in performance they can be worked on.
This would be impossible to manage with any degree of accuracy without a permanent record of pupil progress.
At the end of the lesson:
Our instructor and pupil have just finished a driving lesson. The instructor is about to de-brief the pupil on their performance and record the pupil’s progress.
Simply by starting at the top of the Score Card Record sheet and running down the topic list the instructor can perform a detailed de-brief that will include all of the relevant information for that lesson.
The reason for the de-brief at the end of the lesson is to make sure that the pupil knows which topics have been covered in the lesson, how well the pupil has performed, if there were any problems that still need to be addressed and, if so, what is going to be done about them in the future.
It is also nice for the pupil to be aware of which topics their instructor intends to cover with them on the next lesson so that if they have the time and inclination they can refer to written training materials or the internet and look up the details of the topic/topics which they are going to cover on the next lesson.
At this point the instructor’s knowledge of the pupil’s knowledge and skills levels is at its highest. This has got to be the best time for the instructor to decide on the lesson plan for the following lesson. By simply completing the Score Card Record sheet the instructor can see at the beginning of the next lesson exactly what they have planned to do with this particular pupil.
If no records at all are kept then an instructor could not possibly refresh their memory at the beginning of the lesson. The lesson plan would also not be as relevant and sometimes the instructor would have to ask the pupil to remind them what had been covered on the previous lesson. Either that or they may go out and cover the same thing again without realising it, wasting the pupil’s cash and everyone’s time!

Advantages for the pupil
At the beginning of the lesson:
A pupil will know that their instructor has a lesson plan that is tailored specifically to meet their individual requirements, not just a general memory of what was covered last time. Continuous, structured coverage of the syllabus is therefore assured.
It is never reassuring if an instructor has to ask a pupil to remind them about the previous lesson contents or achievements.
At the end of the lesson:
The pupil knows that they will receive an in depth de-brief which will allow them the benefit of knowing exactly how well they are doing. By looking at their Score Card Record they can also see how much of the course they still have left to cover and how well they are doing at that point.
Every pupil, once they have completed a number of topics to a reasonable standard, wants to know the answer to the following two questions: -
1) How many lessons do I need to complete the course?
2) Am I ready to be put in for my practical test yet?
Both of these questions are easily answered by taking a look at the scores on the Score Card Record sheet at the end of a lesson. Any topics not yet covered will not have any marks against them and once the pupil has achieved a Qualifying Score at the end of a lesson then they will know that they are ready to apply for a test appointment.
Between lessons:
Firstly, the pupil can mentally recap the lesson topics covered previously, thereby refreshing and quite possibly extending knowledge with details that had slipped their mind.
Secondly, the pupil can look up the details of the topics that the instructor has said will be covered on the next lesson. This puts the pupil firmly ahead of the game and in a better position to achieve the required standards more quickly and therefore cover more topics to a greater degree on any given lesson.

Conclusion.
For the pupils that can be bothered, the combination of knowledge about the extent of the course that they have already covered and what they are going to do next allows them the possibility of requiring less driving lessons and therefore saving money.

For more information visit www.newhorizonsdrivingschool.co.uk