2.3 AKTR ACS-Code Diagnostics

Read the AKTR as a diagnostic map

The Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR) is the official outcome document for each AMT knowledge test, generated at the PSI center the moment you finish. Modern AMT AKTRs print ACS codes alongside the score: each code (such as AM.I.G.K2) identifies a specific knowledge element the candidate missed or got wrong. The report therefore does two jobs at once — it states whether you passed (70 or higher) and it itemizes your weak areas in the FAA's own vocabulary.

This matters because the FAA does not release the question that you missed; it releases the standard behind it. A code like AM.I.G.K2 (Cleaning and Corrosion Control — a specific corrosion knowledge item) tells you to return to that ACS element and rebuild it from the handbook, rather than guessing which corrosion fact tripped you up.

The link to the oral and practical

Per the companion guide FAA-G-ACS-1, the DME uses the AKTR as a required input: all deficient knowledge areas indicated by ACS codes on the AKTR are retested during the oral portion of the practical test. This is a deliberate closed loop — the written test surfaces a weakness by code, and the oral confirms the applicant has since closed that gap. A crucial corollary: if an applicant scores 100% on the knowledge test (no ACS codes printed), the examiner asks only the minimum required number of oral questions for the standard.

A higher knowledge score literally shortens the oral. That is a strong incentive to over-prepare rather than scrape past 70.

A disciplined four-step AKTR review

1. Record the test code, score, date, and expiration.
2. List every ACS code printed on the report.
3. Match each code to its ACS element text (look it up in FAA-S-ACS-1) and the FAA handbook reference.
4. Schedule that element into the next written-review block (if you failed) or the oral-prep block (if you passed).

Keep one code log spanning AMG, AMA, and AMP — one line per code with the description, the handbook source, your practice result, and an "oral-explanation ready" flag. That single log serves retake planning, final review, and DME readiness without ever inventing facts outside the FAA source boundary. Two boundary cautions: the AKTR does not reveal live question text (only codes), and you must retain and bring the AKTR to the practical — the DME cannot begin without it.

A lost report can usually be reprinted through the FAA airman records system (IACRA / Airmen Services), but plan ahead so a missing AKTR never delays a scheduled DME appointment.

Worked example: turning a code into a study action

Suppose an AMG AKTR shows a score of 78 (a pass) with deficient codes AM.I.C.K3 and AM.I.G.K2. The disciplined response is mechanical, not emotional:

1. AM.I.C is General subject C, Weight and Balance; K3 is a specific weight-and-balance knowledge element. Action: re-read the weight-and-balance chapter of FAA-H-8083-30B, then re-work empty-weight CG and loaded-CG problems until the method is automatic.
2. AM.I.G is General subject G, Cleaning and Corrosion Control; K2 is a corrosion knowledge element. Action: re-study corrosion types (surface, intergranular, galvanic, filiform) and treatment, again from the General handbook.
3. Log both codes with their descriptions, mark practice status, and flag them for the oral, because the DME will retest exactly these areas.

Notice what the candidate did not do: chase down "the question I missed." The FAA does not provide it, and it is unnecessary — the code points to the standard, and mastering the standard answers any question drawn from it.

Why this matters after a pass, not just a fail

It is tempting to file a passing AKTR and forget it. That is a mistake, because the oral retests every deficient code, and a candidate who scraped a 72 with several codes will face a longer, harder oral than one who scored in the 90s. The AKTR therefore shapes the difficulty of the next stage, not merely whether you reached it.

Maintaining the code log through to the DME appointment — and being able to explain each flagged element's maintenance reasoning aloud — is the single highest-leverage habit between passing the written test and passing the practical. Treat the AKTR as the connective tissue of the whole Part 65 path: a backward-looking score and a forward-looking study plan in one official document.

Practical handling of the report

A few logistics keep the AKTR from becoming a bottleneck. Make a copy as soon as you receive it and store the original safely; the DME will want to see it and may keep a copy for the file. If you are pursuing both ratings, you will accumulate three AKTRs (AMG, AMA, AMP) — keep them together, since the examiner reviews all relevant reports for the rating(s) sought. Track each report's date and 24-month expiration so the oral and practical are completed in time.

If a report is lost, request a replacement through the FAA's airman records process before scheduling the DME, never after. Done well, the AKTR transforms from a slip of paper into the most useful single document in your certification file — it tells you what to study, tells the examiner what to probe, and proves you are within the time window to finish.