Definition
A three-tier rating scale used by aviation instructors during postflight evaluation to grade a learner's performance on each task or maneuver. 'Exceeds standards' means performance was clearly better than the published Airman Certification Standards or Practical Test Standards required for that task. 'Meets standards' means performance satisfied the published standards. 'Needs more training' means performance fell short of the standard and the task must be practiced and re-evaluated before the learner is signed off.
Plain English
These are the three grades an instructor gives after a lesson: better than required, good enough, or not yet good enough and needs more work.
Context Anchor
Used during the instructor’s postflight review, lesson grading, or training record after a flight lesson.
Why Pilots Care
Determines whether the student is ready to advance or must repeat practice before progressing.
Intuition Check
Do not read “needs more training” as a personal failure. In this FAA training context, it simply means that one task has not reached the required standard yet.
Example Sentence 1
On today's lesson, the instructor rated steep turns as 'meets standards' and short-field landings as 'needs more training.'
Example Sentence 2
After the lesson the debrief noted needs more training on power-off stalls due to inconsistent recovery heading.