Aviation Exam Terms Explained: A 30-Term Assessment Glossary
Aviation exam terms are the words regulators and approved training organizations use to say who runs an exam, what kind of test it is, the rules for sitting and retaking it, and how competence is judged. This glossary defines 30 of them for exam officers, quality managers and chief instructors, and ties each one to the text it comes from.
The aviation glossaries that rank for this topic are mostly pilot-operations lists, with entries such as stall recovery, checkride and night currency. They rarely cover the examination side: Part-66 module rules, the European Central Question Bank, retake limits or competency grading. This one does.
For general assessment words such as validity, item bank and cut score, read the assessment glossary for training providers first. Quotes are marked “(quoted)”, and the wording was read as of November 2026. Rules differ by country and change by amendment, so check your competent authority. Nothing here is legal or airworthiness advice.
Key takeaways
- The same word can mean different things under different rule sets: in EASA’s Part-66 guidance an “examiner” is an invigilator, while in its Flight Examiner Manual it is a certified person who conducts skill tests.
- Part-66 retake rules are specific: 90 days after a failed module, and three attempts in a 12-month period, as of November 2026.
- No single aviation pass mark exists: 75 percent applies to Part-66 partial exams, while 70 percent is an FAA Part 147 school-level passage rate.
- “Competency” has at least two official wordings, so state which one your syllabus uses before you write observable behaviors or grading scales.
Which aviation exam terms name the organizations and people involved?
Aviation exams involve four kinds of party: the national Competent Authority, the approved organization that delivers training, the staff who run or assess the exam, and, in the United States, the certificated school. A job title can mean different things under different rule sets, so confirm which one applies to you.
The table below defines seven terms for these bodies and roles, with a suggestion for how an exam system can record each one.
| Term | What it means | In your exam system |
|---|---|---|
| Competent Authority | The national aviation authority of an EASA Member State. EASA’s ECQB page says National Competent Authorities “are responsible for the exams using the ECQB” (quoted). | Record which authority’s rules each exam follows. |
| Approved Training Organisation (ATO) | The Part-ORA term for an organization approved to deliver pilot training. The UK CAA describes a non-complex ATO as “an organisation that provides flight or theoretical knowledge training towards the issue of a UK Part-FCL LAPL, PPL” (quoted). | Store the approval holder and its authority. |
| Part-147 maintenance training organisation | An organization approved under Part-147 of Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 to train aircraft maintenance students. Its exams fall under point 147.A.135(d), explained under “controlled environment” below. | Tag exams by approval and location. |
| FAA Part 147 school | Rule text in 14 CFR 147.25 calls it a “certificated aviation maintenance technician school” (quoted). The school carries a passage-rate duty, defined below. | Keep school-level and learner-level results apart. |
| Examination manager | The role AMC1 147.A.105 describes as “an examination manager with the responsibility of managing the relevant Part-147 Subpart C or Subpart D examination system” (quoted; Issue 2, Amendment 3). | Name an owner for each exam record set. |
| Invigilator | The person who runs an exam without necessarily being a subject expert. EASA FAQ 19075 says “Examiner” should be understood as “invigilator” for Part-66 multiple-choice exams, that invigilators “must be trained to the examination process”, and that essay marking needs knowledgeable personnel. | Log the invigilator and training evidence for every sitting. |
| Flight examiner | In EASA’s non-binding Flight Examiner Manual, Module 1, the person certified to conduct a skill test, proficiency check or assessment of competence. This is a different role from an invigilator. | Keep examiner and invigilator as separate roles. |
Which aviation exam terms describe exam types and formats?
Exam-type terms tell you what is being tested and who owns the content. A Part-66 module exam, an EASA question-bank exam, an FAA knowledge test and a practical skill test are four different things with different owners, so an exam system should never treat “the exam” as one category.
The next table defines six exam-type terms, from maintenance modules to ATA chapters.
| Term | What it means | In your exam system |
|---|---|---|
| Part-66 basic knowledge examination | The module-based exam for an aircraft maintenance license. Counts and times differ by module: Module 1 for B1, B2, B2L and B3 is “32 multiple-choice, no essay questions. Time allowed: 40 minutes” (quoted, point 2.1, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/989). | Model the module as the unit, not the course. |
| European Central Question Bank (ECQB) | EASA’s “bank of some 10,000 questions (Multiple Choice Questions – MCQs)” for flight crew theoretical exams (quoted). EASA holds responsibility for the bank, and national authorities for the exams. The ECQB page announces a new full release, ECQB 2026. | Keep official-bank exams apart from your own item bank. |
| Airman knowledge test | The FAA’s written test. The FAA’s ACTS page says the vendor “supports the FAA in development, assessment, maintenance, and delivery of airman knowledge tests” (quoted; page updated April 5, 2023). | Separate FAA tests from school-run quizzes. |
| Airman Certification Standards (ACS) | FAA documents stating the standards applicants are assessed against. The mechanic document is FAA-S-ACS-1, dated November 2021 and effective September 21, 2022, per the FAA ACS page (updated September 16, 2026). The edition I read uses knowledge, risk management and skill elements, coded like AM.I.A.K1. | Store the ACS code on each item as a tag. |
| Skill test, proficiency check, assessment of competence | The three practical tests EASA’s Flight Examiner Manual covers. It uses “test” as shorthand for whichever applies to the license, rating or certificate sought. | Keep test type as its own field. |
| ATA chapter | A number in what the Airlines for America page calls “the industry-wide standard for numbering aircraft systems” (quoted; ATA iSpec 2200, revision 2024.1). See building a question bank by ATA chapter. | Tag each item with one primary chapter. |
Which aviation exam terms govern sitting, passing and retaking an exam?
These terms set the conditions around an exam sitting: where it happens, how long a pass counts, when you may retry and how an outcome is labeled. The Part-66 and Part-147 point numbers below come from Regulation (EU) 2023/989 as read in November 2026. Check your competent authority for the current consolidated text.
This table defines eight terms, and each row names its source point.
| Term | What it means | In your exam system |
|---|---|---|
| Controlled environment | Point 147.A.135(d) defines it as “an environment where the following can be established and verified” (quoted): student identity, proper conduct of the examination process, examination integrity, and security of examination material. | Capture identity check, location and conduct notes per sitting. |
| Partial examination | A module exam split into parts. Appendix II point 1.12(c) says a partial exam must be “passed with 75 % or more of the questions answered correctly” (quoted). | Keep each part’s result as its own record. |
| Retake interval | Point 1.11: a failed module “may not be retaken earlier than 90 days following the date of a failed examination in that module” (quoted). Tailored retraining at a Part-147 organization shortens this to 30 days. | Calculate the earliest retake date automatically. |
| Attempt limit | Point 1.13: “The maximum number of attempts for each examination is three in a 12-month period” (quoted). | Count attempts per exam over a rolling 12 months. |
| Validity of a pass | Point 66.A.25(c): “The basic knowledge examinations shall have been passed within 10 years prior to the application for an aircraft maintenance licence” (quoted). | Store the pass date and flag the 10-year point. |
| Examination credit | Point 66.A.25(d) lets applicants request full or partial credits for exams passed more than 10 years earlier or for equivalent national training, evidenced by a credit report approved by the competent authority. | Attach the credit report to the learner record. |
| Pass, fail and partial pass | The three outcomes in EASA’s non-binding Flight Examiner Manual, which says “a fail or partial pass result must be founded on observable facts” (quoted). It gives no numeric pass mark. | Require an evidence note on every non-pass. |
| Minimum passage rate | A school-level figure in 14 CFR 147.25(b): “at least 70 percent of students must pass” a written, oral or practical test (quoted), for students who test within 60 days of graduating, over the “most recent 3-year period”. | Report it per cohort, never per learner. |
Pro tip: Tag Each Term With Its Rule Set. “Examiner” and “competency” change meaning between Part-66 guidance, the Flight Examiner Manual and Part-ORO. Add a rule-set field (Part-66, Part-FCL, FAA Part 147) to every exam record, so a report built for one authority never mixes in another’s definitions.
Which aviation exam terms belong to competency-based assessment?
Competency-based terms describe judging performance against observable standards, not recall alone. EASA and ICAO sources word “competency” differently, so first say which definition you use. The rows below draw on Regulation (EU) 2020/2036, the ICAO PANS-TRG wording and EASA guidance.
The final table covers nine terms, from competency to ICAO language levels.
| Term | What it means | In your exam system |
|---|---|---|
| Competency | Annex I point 23a of Regulation (EU) 2020/2036: “a dimension of human performance that is used to reliably predict successful performance on the job” (quoted). An ICAO PANS-TRG copy says “A combination of skills, knowledge and attitudes required to perform a task to the prescribed standard” (quoted). | Record which wording your syllabus uses. |
| Competency framework | Point 23c: “a complete set of identified competencies that are developed, trained and assessed” (quoted). | Version the framework with an effective date. |
| Observable behavior | An action an assessor can see or hear, such as a stated check or a handover. ORO.FC.231(b)(2) requires the framework to “include observable behaviours required for safe, effective and efficient operations” (quoted), and the text read does not define the term. | Write each one as a checkable statement. |
| Performance criteria | In the PANS-TRG copy, “Simple, evaluative statements on the required outcome of the competency element” (quoted). | Link each criterion to a rating option. |
| Evidence guide | In the PANS-TRG copy, “A guide that provides detailed information (e.g. tolerances) in the form of evidence” for an instructor or evaluator (quoted). | Attach it to the checklist the assessor uses. |
| CBTA | Competency-based training and assessment. Point 23b begins “assessment and training programmes that are characterised by a performance orientation” (quoted; the definition continues). See CBTA assessment explained. | Tag assessments as CBTA or traditional. |
| EBT | Evidence-based training. Point 47f begins “assessment and training based on operational data that is characterised by developing and assessing” (quoted; the definition continues). Its operating rules sit in ORO.FC.231 for pilots. | Keep grade data exportable for later analysis. |
| Grading system | ORO.FC.231(d)(1): “The operator shall use a grading system to assess the pilot competencies” (quoted). | Store the scale and its descriptors with every grade. |
| ICAO Operational Level 4 | ICAO’s language page works toward “English Language Proficiency Level 4 as a minimum operational level” (quoted) for pilots and air traffic controllers. The ICAO levels explained post covers the scale. | Record the level, test date and testing body. |
Pro tip: Keep Debrief Codes Out of Results. EASA’s Flight Examiner Manual says its nine competency codes are used for debriefing guidance and do not change the pass or fail criteria. Store the test outcome and the competency feedback in separate fields, so a debrief note can never become a result by accident.
What should you do next?
Pick the five or six terms your next decision needs: an exam-system review needs controlled environment, retake interval and attempt limit, while a syllabus rewrite needs competency, observable behavior and performance criteria. Then confirm each against your competent authority’s current text.
When you configure any platform, treat the “In your exam system” column as a list of fields to ask about. As of November 2026, SimpliAssess’s features page lists item banking and tag management and says its API lets you “create and manage items/tests” (quoted). It does not describe aviation-specific fields, so confirm that yours can be configured.
For the training-records side, SimpliTrain’s aviation industry page states support for “delivery and tracking of EASA Part-147 Basic Training, Type Training, and OJT completion” (quoted). It does not detail exam features, so ask for a demonstration of the exact terms above.
Frequently asked questions
What does a competent authority do in aviation exams?
A competent authority is the national aviation authority of an EASA Member State. EASA’s ECQB page says National Competent Authorities are responsible for the exams that use the ECQB. Local arrangements for other exams depend on the rule set, so check the notices your own authority publishes.
What is the difference between an examiner and an invigilator?
An invigilator runs the exam; an examiner assesses performance. EASA FAQ 19075 says “examiner” should be read as “invigilator” for Part-66 multiple-choice exams, and invigilators need not be subject experts. EASA’s Flight Examiner Manual instead describes a certified person who conducts skill tests, proficiency checks and assessments of competence.
Is there one pass mark for aviation exams?
No. Part-66 Appendix II sets 75 percent for partial exams, 14 CFR 147.25 sets a 70 percent passage rate for FAA schools, and EASA’s Flight Examiner Manual gives no numeric mark for flight tests. These numbers measure different things and are not interchangeable.
How many times can a Part-66 exam be retaken?
As of November 2026, Appendix II allows at most three attempts per exam in a 12-month period. A failed module may not be retaken earlier than 90 days after the failure, or 30 days after tailored retraining at a Part-147 organization. Confirm the current text with your competent authority.
How long does a Part-66 module pass stay valid?
Point 66.A.25(c) says the basic knowledge examinations must have been passed within 10 years before the license application. Applicants can request full or partial credits for older passes or equivalent national training, supported by a credit report approved by the competent authority.
Do EASA or the FAA approve exam software?
None of the sources read for this glossary describes either regulator approving exam software. They set requirements on exams and organizations, such as the controlled environment in point 147.A.135(d). Ask your competent authority what evidence it expects, and treat any vendor claim of approval as a claim to verify.
