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Blue Streak

I like snow.
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Nov 12, 2015
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3,266
Location
Edwards, Colorado
They are now called "assessments."

Won't you feel much better, if you fail an "assessment?"

:doh:
 

Steve

SkiMangoJazz
Pass Pulled
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Nov 13, 2015
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In the East they're still listed as Exams in the schedule.

I've been told by Examiners that you don't "Fail" an exam, you just maintain your current level and don't move up.

Took a look at my exam history and I see the word "Fail" more than once.
 
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TS
Blue Streak

Blue Streak

I like snow.
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
3,266
Location
Edwards, Colorado
In the East they're still listed as Exams in the schedule.

I've been told by Examiners that you don't "Fail" an exam, you just maintain your current level and don't move up.

Took a look at my exam history and I see the word "Fail" more than once.
In Rocky Mountain, it's "attained" or "did not attain."

This is like not keeping score in kids soccer, to avoid anyone being scarred from failure. Sorry, the kids know full well who won...at least the smart ones do ;)
 

graham418

Skiing the powder
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In the CSIA "Evaluation" it's ME, "Meets Expectations", or NI, "Needs Improvement". No exam, no pass or fail. Easy Peasy :D
 

Steve

SkiMangoJazz
Pass Pulled
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Nov 13, 2015
Posts
2,338
Ex Senator Stuart Smalley.
 

geepers

Skiing the powder
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May 12, 2018
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4,256
Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
In the CSIA "Evaluation" it's ME, "Meets Expectations", or NI, "Needs Improvement". No exam, no pass or fail. Easy Peasy :D

That's right for the L3 Teach.

The results of L3 Skiing component are provided on a sheet called "Master Sheet Level 3 Skiing Exam". It has numeric scores for each of the 4 ski tasks and in the top right corner is a box labelled "Skiing Result" with Pass and Fail options.


I've found the written feedback from the Teach very helpful as well as the noting which specific skills need work. Really don't care whether they labelled them NI/ME or Ace/Turkey.

It would be helpful to have similar feedback on the ski tasks. Unfortunately that's not practical - that's what CSIA Courses are for.
 
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Brian Finch

Privateer Skier @ www.SkiWithaGrimRipper.com
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Nov 17, 2015
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3,358
Location
Vermont
I was really surprised to hear an Examiner describe the current state of Exams & candidates. Sounds like a real free fall.
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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Nov 12, 2015
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7,220
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Sierra & Wasatch
I have heard “meets”or “does not meet the standard” in Intermountain for a while now.
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,605
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PNW aka SEA
I was really surprised to hear an Examiner describe the current state of Exams & candidates. Sounds like a real free fall.

Not to get into it too deep, but I don't think it's rocket science. Ski instruction isn't at all a viable living in most parts of the US and at most ski areas. Sure, there are some exceptions, so let's not go down that hole as it isn't relevant to the realities of the goals of most people. By and large, there is little $$$ incentive to attaining higher certs in many schools. (Thankfully, that hasn't been my personal experience.) For many, it's simply a 'self-challenge'.

The realities of 'teaching time' are huge. A part-timer with a 15 day commitment will likely NOT teach as many lessons in a season as a full timer will in a couple of weeks making the 'teach' and 'MA' sections of any exam a challenge unless they've come from a very directed coached background a la racing. It's hard to get enough days on the hill to do MA, and many have no desire to put in the time either on hill or on screen just lskiing, and looking at skiing with some mentorship.

That said, there's nothing wrong with pursuing self-improvement as a hobby, but the standards should not be less. As the saying goes, home plate is 17" across for everyone. L1 is t-ball, L2 is little league distance from mound to player, and L3 is the full 90 feet. L4/DCL etc... is deft command of placement. Good skiing is good skiing. It passes exams in short order, but good skiing takes time and some degree of commitment to one's general athleticism. Anyhow, I don't know that it's all doom and gloom. It was heartening to see several younger faces in the fall divisional trainers' seminar this past weekend.
 
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