The following glossary may help you:

ADI - Approved Driving Instructor (see also PDI)

ADI Part 1 - The first of three tests which form the ADI exam. This first one is a theory test.

ADI Part 2 - The second of three tests which form the ADI exam. This Second one is an eyesight test and a test of driving ability.

ADI Part 3 - The third of three tests which form the ADI exam. This Third one is a test of instructional ability.

Cardington - A place in Bedfordshire where the examiners are trained at the DSA’s purpose-built Training Establishment.

Check Test - This is something that all ADIs must undergo on a periodic basis to ensure their teaching is up to standard.

Core Competencies - These are the Key Skills that an effective teacher must possess. The three core competencies are:
  1. The ability to identify faults.
  2. The ability to analyse faults and,
  3. The ability to remedy those faults.
Each is a key skill. The three do not combine to form a single skill.

Your overall grading at the ADI Part 3 test will be determined by your ability to use the core competencies effectively.

On your Check Test the grading you are awarded will be a direct reflection of your use of these key skills.

In both the ADI Part 3 and on a Check Test, the final mark given will be based on the lowest core competency rating.

DSA - The Driving Standards Agency. This is a Government Agency which deals with the administration of L tests and also the administration of ADI tests. The aim of the DSA is to promote road safety through the advancement of driving standards. Its motto is: Safe Driving for Life.

Green Badge - This is the unofficial name usually given to the Certificate of Registration that is issued when your name is entered on to the register of Approved Driving Instructors. It must be displayed in the windscreen of the car when teaching professionally.

ORDIT - Official Register of Driving Instructor Trainers.

PDI - Provisional (or potential) Driving Instructor (see also ADI).

PST - Pre-Set Test. When taking the ADI Part 3 test the SE will ask you to teach him or her one of the ten pre-set tests. Each PST (there are ten altogether) is made up of a pair of topics, ie; Controls / Crossroads. Generally referred to as phase one, the first part will be taught to a beginner or partly trained pupil whilst the second half, or phase 2, will be a subject taught to a trained pupil.

Role Play - The acting out of a particular part. The SE will describe a scenario and paint a ‘word picture’ and then assume the role of a novice / partly trained / trained driver for the ADI Part 3 test. Role play will also be used for a Check Test when the ADI does not attend with a pupil.

SE - Supervising Examiner. These are people especially trained by the DSA for the job of assessing PDIs at the various stages of the ADI exam. They also carry out the Check Tests on ADIs. Each SE (there are approximately sixty throughout the UK) oversees the ADIs in their geographical area.