In a code-inspection class, senior inspectors get a smile and a pass while new hires take a hard practical on the same objective. What should the instructor change?

In a code-inspection class where senior inspectors get a smile-and-pass while new hires take a hard practical on the same objective, the instructor must apply the same evaluation standard to every learner regardless of tenure or familiarity. Uniform standards protect fairness and the city's inspection quality. Keeping the smile-pass for seniors because tenure "proves" the skill fails the uniform-standard concept; tenure is not a substitute score. Making the practical even harder for new hires so veterans are not delayed fails equity and contaminates measurement. Skipping evaluation for anyone the instructor already knows from the shop fails independence and consistency of assessment. Exam caveat: friendship and years on the job are not a score against a published municipal objective. Operational check: administer the same practical rubric to seniors and new hires, record comparable evidence, and release or remediate based on the standard alone. Inspection standards must be uniform because housing and code outcomes do not care who is senior in the shop; the same practical rubric for every learner is both fair evaluation and civic quality control. Document the decision in the session notes so the next municipal offering repeats what worked.