The eighth drive is set up as a pretest to mimic the conditions of the twelvth drive, where the teacher tests the students and isn't allowed to give them any reminders or suggestions. They either pass or they fail and have to retake the entire class. If they pass they get a limited driving permit that allows them to drive family members under the supervision of their parents. After six months, if the student has reached the required number of documented driving hours, they are eligible to get their regular drivers licence, but still have some limitations on driving at night and having friends in the car until they turn 16.
Kid 2 didn't perform very well on her eighth drive. I spoke to the teacher, who told me very few of the kids actually pass the eighth drive, so he wasn't worried, but it really shook Kid 2's confidence. I may or may not have taken her to Moody Meadows to allow her to practice driving on the deserted forest service roads out there. Lots of curves and hills, a little snow and ice and mud, some cattle guards, and a "scary" two point turn by a culvert with a sharp drop off seemed to help her out.
Also, we may have practiced parking in a mostly empty church parking lot and Stable Boy may have allowed her to practice some, too. All of it paid off when Kid 2 passed her driving test to get her permit last night. Whew! Stable Boy and I were at Kid 4's Cub Scout bike rodeo, so I was sweating it all night last night waiting to hear the news.
Kid 1 actually picked up Kid 2 after her drive, since Stable Boy and I were at pack night. Kid 2 has a sassy streak. Usually you can tell when she's teasing, but she had Kid 1 totally believing that she had failed her test and was going to have to repeat the whole thing. Apparently Kid 1 got pretty worked up on her behalf before Kid 2 fessed up the truth. Sassy.
Even though she passed last night, she still has to wait a couple weeks for her classmates to finish their drives before her teacher will hand out the permits. I was disappointed about that, because Kid 1 got her's before she got out of the car after her twelfth drive. I'd like for Kid 2 to be able to jump right into driving without a break, but I guess in the grand scheme of things, two weeks isn't very long to wait.