Linking assessment results to aviation training records in SimpliTrain
Aviation assessment records are the stored results of knowledge tests, practical assessments and progress checks, plus the details that show who was assessed, by whom, when and against what. Linking them to a training record means every result carries a stable student ID, an assessor ID, a version and a timestamp, and one system is named the record of truth.
This guide is for heads of training, quality managers and exam officers at approved training organizations, Part-147 maintenance training organizations and FAA Part 147 schools. It sets out what the rules say about keeping records, a field map for the link, and a pilot test. Because the title names a product, it also lists what the vendor’s published pages say, and where they say nothing.
The rules were read in October 2026. They are not legal or airworthiness advice, and they differ by country and approval type, so check your competent authority or Flight Standards office before you design records around them.
Key takeaways
- The rules we read say what to keep and protect, such as “all student training, examination and assessment records” under Part-147. They do not say which software holds them or how two systems should connect.
- A result is only useful in the training record if it carries a student ID, attempt number, outcome, version, assessor ID, event time and change history.
- Failed attempts and corrected scores are what an auditor samples. Test the link with those first, not with a clean pass.
- As of October 2026, SimpliTrain’s published pages describe built-in assessments, certificate records and an API, but no page describes how results move between SimpliAssess and SimpliTrain. Ask for a live demonstration.
What are aviation assessment records, and how do they differ from training records?
An assessment record describes one assessment event: one student, one attempt, one result. A training record is the student’s file across the whole course, holding attendance, results, credits and completion. The training record is built from assessment records, so the link between them decides whether the file can be trusted.
The table separates the four records people tend to blur together.
| Record | What it answers | Typical home |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment attempt record | What did this student score on this attempt, and what was the outcome? | The assessment system |
| Student training record | What has this student completed, passed or been credited with so far? | The training or records system |
| Assessor and examiner record | Who assessed, and were they qualified to do so on that date? | Your quality or personnel files |
| Completion document | What proof of completion did the student receive, and on what basis? | Generated from the training record |
Most linking problems start with the third row. Results get tied to the student and forgotten for the assessor, which is the half an examination-integrity audit asks about.
What do the rules say about keeping aviation assessment records?
The EASA and FAA texts we read require records of training, examination and assessment, and set retention or procedure expectations for them. None names a system or a data format. Retention differs sharply between rule sets, so read the table against your own approval type.
| Source | What it says | What it means for the link |
|---|---|---|
| EASA Part-147, point 147.A.125 | The organisation “shall keep all student training, examination and assessment records for an unlimited period” (quoted) | Attempt-level results belong in scope, and the link must outlive any one software contract |
| Part-147, point 147.A.110 | The organisation “shall maintain a record of all instructors, knowledge examiners and practical assessors”, reflecting “experience and qualification, training history” (quoted) | Each result should point to an assessor who exists in that record |
| Part-147, point 147.A.130(b) | The quality system includes “an independent audit function to monitor training standards” and “the integrity of knowledge examinations and practical assessments” (quoted) | Auditors can sample results, so the link must be traceable end to end |
| EASA ORA.ATO.120 and ORA.GEN.220 (flight crew ATOs) | ORA.ATO.120: records kept “throughout the course” and “for a period of three years after the completion of the training”, including “detailed and regular progress reports from instructors including assessments”. ORA.GEN.220: “reliable traceability” and storage that ensures “protection from damage, alteration and theft” (all quoted) | Results must be traceable and edits controlled. The record format is set in your own procedures |
| FAA 14 CFR 147.23(b) | The quality control system “must provide procedures for recordkeeping, assessment, issuing credit, issuing of final course grades, attendance” and more (quoted) | Your written procedures must say how results become grades and credit |
| FAA AC 147-3C, paragraph 2.5.3 (guidance) | “Records should clearly distinguish between successful performance and unsuccessful performance” (quoted). Retaining records “for at least 2 years after the end of the student’s enrollment” is recommended | Keep failed attempts visible. Two years is a recommendation, not a rule |
Sources and status, as of October 2026: we read Part-147 on the UK legislation site’s copy of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, because EUR-Lex was not readable to us. The ORA rules come from EASA’s June 2020 Easy Access Rules for Part-ORA. The FAA wording comes from 14 CFR 147.23 and FAA Advisory Circular 147-3C, dated March 22, 2022. Later amendments may differ, so confirm the current EASA text before relying on any line.
Is the Part-147 retention period about to change?
Possibly, but we could not confirm it. EASA’s February 2024 briefing slides on its Part-147 review (NPA 2023-10, RMT.0544) list a “decrease of retention period from ‘unlimited’ to 10 years for training records”. The NPA page we fetched showed no outcome. Until your competent authority says otherwise, plan around the text in force.
What do the rules leave to you?
Three things stay with your organization and its authority: which system is the record of truth, what format the records take, and how edits are controlled in practice. None of the sources we read says a regulator approves record or exam software. Treat any “compliant” label on a tool as the vendor’s statement and ask for the evidence. Our post on assessment data your accreditation body will ask for found the same silence on item-level data in four non-aviation rule sets.
Which fields must travel from the assessment to the training record?
Eight fields: student ID, attempt and outcome, score and pass mark, assessment version, assessor ID, event and record time, change history, and retention status. The table gives the basis for each and a test you can run. Where no rule names a field, the basis column says it is our recommendation.
| Field | What to store | Basis | Test to run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student ID | One ID issued by one system, never a name or email | Traceability, ORA.GEN.220 | Every result in the export matches exactly one student record |
| Attempt and outcome | Attempt number, pass or fail, kept for every attempt | 147.A.125; AC 147-3C 2.5.3 | A failed attempt appears on both sides, or one side links to the other |
| Score and pass mark | Score, and the pass mark applied at the time | Recommendation | Change the pass mark in a test course and confirm old results do not change |
| Assessment version | Which form or item set the student saw, and the syllabus reference | Recommendation | A result can be traced to the exact paper used |
| Assessor ID | An ID that resolves to the examiner or assessor record | 147.A.110 | Each result names an assessor who exists in your personnel records |
| Event time and record time | When the assessment happened and when the system stored it | Recommendation; xAPI keeps both | Reconnect a device after a delay and compare the two times |
| Change history | Who changed what, when, with the old value | ORA.GEN.220(c); 147.A.130 | Edit one score and find the log entry in under a minute |
| Retention status | Retain-until date or archive flag | 147.A.125; ORA.ATO.120; AC 147-3C | Try to delete a record that is still inside retention |
The event-time row borrows from the Experience API (xAPI) specification, which defines “timestamp” as the time the experience occurred and “stored” as the time the statement was stored by the learning record store. You need not use xAPI to copy the idea.
Pro tip: Record The Assessor As They Were That Day. Qualifications change. Store the assessor ID and, if your process allows, their authorization status on the assessment date, so an auditor can see that the examiner was qualified when the result was recorded, not only today.
Which system should be the record of truth for aviation assessment records?
Pick one owner per field. The assessment system should own attempt-level detail, because it captures it first-hand. The training record should own status, such as passed, credited or completed. Anything copied across is read-only, and every copy carries the attempt ID so it can be traced back.
Two patterns cause most damage: a status updated from a copied score while the source attempt stays behind in the other system, and a manual fix made in one system only, so neither shows why they disagree. Write one sentence per field saying which system may change it and what happens to the other copy.
Identity is the first rule to settle. Our post on embedding assessments with APIs explains why mismatched IDs send results to the wrong learner or to none. Resits matter here too: some exams limit attempts, and the count only works if every attempt is visible, as our post on Part-147 examination requirements explains.
What do SimpliTrain’s and SimpliAssess’s published pages say about linking results?
As of October 2026, the published pages describe the pieces but not the link. SimpliTrain describes its own assessments, certificate records and an API. The SimpliTrain ecosystem post says assessment can live inside SimpliTrain. None of the pages we read describes a documented feed of results from SimpliAssess into SimpliTrain, so treat that as something to see demonstrated.
The table lists each claim with the page it comes from, and what that page leaves out.
| Page | What it says | What it does not say |
|---|---|---|
| SimpliTrain aviation page | Lists Assessments and Exams, Question Banks and Proctoring. Says SimpliTrain “supports delivery and tracking of EASA Part-147 Basic Training, Type Training, and OJT completion.” Its FAQ says “assessment scores, and progress data sync automatically when the device reconnects.” Describes audit packs and a certification tracker | No field list for results, no retention period, no mention of SimpliAssess. The audit and sync statements are vendor claims we did not test |
| SimpliTrain AI assessments page | Says instructors can override AI-generated scores, that you can “push assessment results and completion data to your existing systems,” and that it connects through an API and supports SCORM and xAPI | No payload, field or identity-matching detail. No word on whether overrides are logged |
| SimpliTrain certificate and question bank pages | Certificate records are stored and shown in admin reports. Admins can require a minimum assessment score. The question bank page says you can “export or delete records at any time” | No retention period: the certificate page points to SimpliTrain for retention details. No assessor record |
| SimpliTrain ecosystem post | “Because it’s headless, assessment can live inside SimpliTrain or be embedded across other digital touchpoints” | Nothing about records, results or data exchange |
| SimpliAssess FAQ and features page | Integrates with third-party systems such as LMS and SIS, with details on request. You can export all test scores to a spreadsheet. Data ownership stays with the customer | The features page lists “Analytics & Reporting” as a name only. It does not mention SimpliTrain |
Read these as sources for questions, not answers. The SimpliTrain ecosystem post and the SimpliAssess features page, which describes an “API first design”, are starting points, and neither is a specification. With a retention rule in force, ask who may delete records and whether deletion is blocked inside the retention period.
How do you test the link before you rely on it?
Run ten students through one short test in both systems, include the awkward cases, then reconcile the exports line by line. A one-day pilot with seeded problems shows whether results, assessor IDs and edits survive the link, at far less cost than finding the gaps in an audit.
Step 1: Seed the cases. Use ten test students. Give one a failed attempt then a pass, one an assessor missing from your personnel list, and one a corrected score. Write your own ten-item test for the exercise, not a copy of any official exam.
Step 2: Run the assessments. Sit each student as normal. For one, disconnect the device and reconnect it later, if your delivery supports offline use, and note both times.
Step 3: Export both sides. Pull the assessment export and the training record for the same ten students, and ask the vendor to show any API or sync log.
Step 4: Reconcile. Compare line by line using the field table. The sheet below shows what findings look like. The students and scores are invented for illustration.
| Student | Assessment system | Training record | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| S01 | Attempt 1 fail (68), attempt 2 pass (81) | Pass (81) only | Failed attempt missing. AC 147-3C says records should distinguish unsuccessful performance |
| S02 | Pass (77), assessor ID A-14 | Pass, assessor blank | Assessor not carried across. Result cannot be tied to a qualified examiner |
| S03 | Score 72 edited to 75, log shows editor | Score 75, no log | Edit present on one side only. Training record cannot show the change |
| S04 | Sat Oct 31, 23:50 local | Dated Nov 1 | Record time stored as event time. Fix the field mapping or time zone rule |
Step 5: Pull one full file. Pick one student, assemble everything an auditor might ask for from both systems, and time it. Fix the gaps, record the date and tester, and repeat after any change to either system.
Pro tip: Hand The Sample Request To An Outsider. Ask someone outside the training team, such as a quality colleague, to pull one named student’s complete record using only your written procedure. The steps they cannot follow are the steps an auditor would trip on.
What should you do next?
Copy the field table into a one-page records specification, with one line per field naming the owning system and who may edit it. Check each line against the rule set for your approval type, and mark fields you added as your own recommendation, not a requirement.
Send the specification and the reconciliation sheet to every vendor you are considering, and ask them to demonstrate the link against your ten seeded cases. SimpliTrain’s demo request page says the walkthrough covers assessments and certification tracking and is tailored to your setup, so bring the spec and ask to see S01 to S04 reproduced live. Treat what you see, and what your competent authority accepts, as the evidence.
Frequently asked questions
What are aviation assessment records?
Aviation assessment records are the stored results of knowledge tests, practical assessments and progress checks at an aviation training organization. A useful record shows who was assessed, which attempt it was, the outcome, the version used, who assessed and when. Part-147 refers to student examination and assessment records, so keep attempt-level detail, not only the final result.
How long must aviation training organizations keep assessment records?
It depends on the rule set. The Part-147 text we read says student training, examination and assessment records are kept for an unlimited period, and ORA.ATO.120 says three years after training ends. FAA AC 147-3C recommends at least two years after enrollment ends. EASA has proposed Part-147 changes, so confirm the current wording.
Can a training platform hold the official assessment record?
The rules we read set what must be kept, protected and traceable, not which software holds it. ORA.GEN.220 requires record-keeping with “reliable traceability” and protection from alteration. Whether a platform is acceptable depends on your approved procedures and your authority, so describe the system in those procedures and ask before relying on it.
Does SimpliTrain sync results automatically from SimpliAssess?
SimpliTrain’s published pages do not say so. They describe SimpliTrain’s own assessments, an API and xAPI support, and the ecosystem post says assessment can live inside SimpliTrain. No page documents result transfer between the two products. Ask for a live demonstration using your own test cases before assuming any automatic sync.
Should failed attempts be kept in the training record?
Yes, keep them or link to them. FAA AC 147-3C says records should clearly distinguish successful from unsuccessful performance, and Part-147 refers to “all” student examination and assessment records. Showing only the final pass hides history that an auditor, or a re-sit limit, may need to see.
Who should be recorded as the assessor?
Record an ID that resolves to the organization’s record of its knowledge examiners and practical assessors. Part-147 point 147.A.110 requires that record, including experience, qualification and training history. A name typed into a free-text field cannot be checked against it, so use a controlled list.
