Definition
The official FAA publications that define the knowledge, skills, and standards a pilot applicant must demonstrate to earn a certificate or rating. The two principal testing documents are the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and the Practical Test Standards (PTS), which together specify what will be tested on the knowledge test and the practical (checkride) test.
Plain English
These are the FAA's official rulebooks that tell you exactly what you have to know and be able to do to pass your pilot tests.
Context Anchor
You will see this phrase when reading about pilot certification, practical tests, and how the FAA decides whether an applicant meets the required standard.
Why Pilots Care
The testing documents tell you, in writing, what the examiner is allowed to test and what standard you must meet. Training without referring to them means guessing at what's required. Reading them early lets you train toward the actual standard from day one.
Intuition Check
Do not read “testing documents” as any paperwork used during training. Here it means the official FAA standards that guide the test itself.
Example Sentence 1
Before her checkride, she reviewed the testing documents to confirm the exact tolerances for steep turns and short-field landings.
Example Sentence 2
Before the flight portion, the instructor and applicant reviewed the testing documents together to confirm all required maneuvers were practiced.