Pass and fail rates for theory tests in 2011, 2012 and 2013
Published 19 May 2014
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-and-fail-rates-for-theory-tests-in-2011-2012-and-2013/pass-and-fail-rates-for-theory-tests-in-2011-2012-and-2013
This is Freedom of Information request ia0019413.
The following questions were clarified to provide data for car tests in financial years.
1. Request
What was the pass / fail rate for the driver theory test in the years 2011, 2012 and so far in 2013? Please provide a breakdown of the number of pass / fails for each year.
2. Response
The theory test pass and fail statistics for the financial years 2010/11 and 2011/12 can be found on our website at
Theory test pass fail statistics.
This information is therefore exempt under section 21 (information accessible by other means) of the FoIA. A copy of this exemption is attached at Annex A.
The statistics for the financial year 2012/13 are due to be published on 4 July and will be available on our website at the link above. This information is therefore exempt from release under section 22 (information intended for future publication) of the FoIA. This is a qualified exemption which is subject to the public interest test as to whether the balance lies in favour of withholding or disclosing the information. All public interest tests begin with the assumption that information should be disclosed unless there are sufficient reasons why the information should be withheld. In this case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. A copy of this exemption and the public interest test is attached at Annex B.
3. Request
What was the pass / fail rate for the hazard perception portion of the driver theory test in the years 2011, 2012 and so far in 2013? Please provide a breakdown of the number of pass / fails for each year.
4. Response
The table below shows how many candidates passed and failed the Hazard Perception section of the theory test in the last 3 financial years.
| Passed | Failed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/2011 | 1,161,917 | 184,317 |
| 2011/2012 | 1,176,002 | 195,508 |
| 2012/2013 | 1,061,531 | 182,522 |
| Total | 3,399,450 | 562,347 |
5. Request
What was the pass / fail rate for the multiple choice portion of the driver theory test in the years 2011, 2012 and so far in 2013? Please provide a breakdown of the number of pass / fails for each year.
6. Response
The following table shows how many candidates passed and failed the multiple choice section of the theory test in the last 3 financial years.
| Passed | Failed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/2011 | 952,676 | 393,558 |
| 2011/2012 | 938,940 | 432,570 |
| 2012/2013 | 830,204 | 413,849 |
| Total | 2,721,820 | 1,239,977 |
7. Request
Specifically regarding the multiple choice portion of the theory test, which category of multiple choice theory questions has the highest number of incorrect answers? Please provide a breakdown of the number of incorrect / correct answers for each year.
8. Response
The table below shows the category of the multiple choice theory questions which had the highest number of incorrect answers in the last 3 financial years. Please note we have included a translation if the lowest was in Welsh.
| Topic Area | Correct | Incorrect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010/2011 | Vulnerable Road Users | 7,019,632 | 1,057,142 |
| 2011/2012 | Road and Traffic Signs | 7,088,042 | 1,140,718 |
| 2012/2013 | Road and Traffic Signs | 6,179,020 | 1,120,255 |