What goes into the score
- Mock-exam average
- 40% of the scoreThe average of the learner's last five mock papers
- Topic accuracy
- 25% of the scoreHow many questions they get right in each of the three sections — rules, signs, controls
- Weak-area improvement
- 20% of the scoreWhether their weakest topics are actually getting better over time, not just how they scored once
- Consistency
- 15% of the scoreHow many days out of the last two weeks they have actually practised
- First-time free test
- Scored differently — straight accuracy per section, no blendThere is no history yet to blend from, so the free test measures only that one sitting
Why the free test and the full score look different
The free, anonymous readiness test — five questions, no account — cannot use the blend above, because three of its four ingredients need a history a first-time visitor does not have: no run of mock papers to average, no weak-area trend to measure, no pattern of practice days to count.
So it scores the one honest signal it actually has: how many questions in each section — rules, signs, controls — your teen got right, on that attempt. That is real, but it is a snapshot of one sitting, not a forecast.
Once a learner has a signed-in account with some history — a few mock papers, some practice across a week or two — the full blend takes over, weighted most heavily towards mock performance, because sitting a full paper under timed conditions is the closest thing to the real test.
If any one piece of data is missing — a weak-area trend needs more time to show than a single mock paper does — that share is left out and the rest are reweighted over what is actually known, rather than a missing piece being guessed at.
Why we do not turn this into a "ready to book" verdict
The score does carry three descriptive bands, and it would be easy to read the strongest one as permission to book the test. We deliberately do not present it that way — on the site itself, the strongest band shows as "On track", not "Ready" or "You'll pass". That wording choice is on purpose: describing where someone currently stands is not the same thing as issuing a verdict about their future test result.
A readiness score, however it is built, is a summary of practice history against a bank of practice questions. It cannot see how a learner will handle an unfamiliar question, an unfamiliar examiner, or a nervous morning. Only the actual test at the testing centre can say pass or fail — that is the honest boundary of what any score like this can tell you.
"On track" tells you where your teen currently stands and invites the next question — which section, specifically, is still weak? — rather than closing the conversation with a certainty neither of you can act on.
See the score for yourself
The free readiness test takes about two minutes, needs no account, and scores by section the way the real test does — so you get a specific weak area to talk about, not just a single number.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions from parents
Can I trust a high score to mean my child will pass?
It is the strongest signal the app can give you, built from their actual practice history rather than a guess — but it is not a guarantee, and the app does not claim to be one. A high score reflects strong performance on practice questions; the real test is written, marked and issued by the testing centre alone.
My child hasn't done a mock paper yet. What score will they see?
Without history there is nothing yet to blend, so the app doesn't guess at one. The free readiness test instead scores accuracy on that one attempt, per section — an honest starting point rather than a placeholder number.
Does the readiness score ever tell my child they're ready to book?
No. It describes where they currently stand — for example, that their weakest section is improving, or that a strong result is repeating rather than a one-off — but it never tells them to book the test. Only the testing centre's own test decides pass or fail.
Why does how often they practise count towards the score?
Because a single strong sitting is weak evidence on its own — a lucky run of familiar questions or a quiet, unrushed afternoon produces a number that will not repeat. Regular practice over the last two weeks is more informative than one good day, so it carries its own weight.
Is the score the same as the readiness read after a mock exam?
They draw on the same data but answer different questions. The mock result tells you how that one paper went; the readiness score on the dashboard blends it with topic accuracy, improvement and consistency into one ongoing picture — and both stop short of a pass/fail verdict.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 104(2)(a)The three subjects the examiner assesses — the rules of the road, the road traffic signs, and the controls of the vehicle class applied for — assessed independently. This is why the readiness score's topic-accuracy component is split into the same three sections rather than one combined figure.
- K53 Coach's readiness scoring engine, as implemented on this siteThe DB9 blend (mock average 40% / topic accuracy 25% / weak-area improvement 20% / consistency 15%, renormalised over whichever components have data) and the diagnostic scoring used by the free anonymous test, which has no history to blend and scores per-section accuracy instead. Neither ever produces a pass/fail statement.
Last updated 2026-09-23.