Definition
The official FAA documents that specify the knowledge, risk management, and skill requirements an applicant must meet to pass a practical test (checkride) for a pilot certificate or rating. The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) is the current format and integrates aeronautical knowledge, risk management, and flight proficiency into a single standard for each task. The Practical Test Standards (PTS) is the older format, still used for a small number of certificates and ratings that have not yet transitioned to the ACS. Both define the minimum acceptable performance an examiner uses to evaluate an applicant.
Plain English
These are the FAA's official rulebooks that tell you exactly what you must know and be able to do to pass your checkride. The ACS is the newer version; the PTS is the older one. A few certificates still use the PTS, but most have moved to the ACS.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight training, lesson planning, instructor guidance, and practical test preparation.
Why Pilots Care
These standards define what will be tested on every practical exam, directly determining whether a pilot passes or fails.
Intuition Check
Do not read ACS/PTS as one single standard. It means the applicable FAA standard: either the ACS or, where still used, the PTS.
Example Sentence 1
Before the checkride, the instructor reviewed each ACS task with the student to confirm the required tolerances were being met.
Example Sentence 2
Flight schools updated their syllabi when the FAA replaced the PTS with the ACS for most certificates.