A Scout is Tested Testing is under the control of the Scoutmaster. It is his job to ensure that the testing is adequate for the skill. There are a large number of people that can sign off on Scout skills, The Scout may be tested on requirements by his: Scoutmaster Assistant Scoutmaster Troop instructor Patrol leader Troop committee member an adult member of his troop The Scoutmaster maintains a list of those qualified to give tests and to pass. The important thing is that the Scoutmaster must train others to test on Scout skills. If the Scoutmaster or others are signing the book without testing, then we have not done the right thing for that Scout. Skills must be demonstrated before signing. For skills that happened on a previous campout or activity, there must be verification by one of the persons on the list of those qualified to give tests. Even if you are one of the persons on the list, you should never sign for your own son. There are others in the troop that can do that for you. No relative should participate in Scoutmaster conferences, or board of reviews. It is important that all skills be tested before signing. When the Scout has signatures for all the skills for a rank (except the last three, and we will discuss those) he has done all that he has to do for that rank and has virtually passed that rank. The last three signoffs for all ranks, are Scout spirit, Scoutmaster conference, and board of review. "Demonstrate scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life." Scout Spirit should ONLY be signed by the Scoutmaster. No other person should do this. (the exception would be in a very large troop, and that is covered under Scoutmaster Conference.) Merit Badges Merit badge testing is done by the merit badge counselor. It is the Scoutmasters job to make sure that merit badge counselors are testing adequately, in the sense that the Scoutmaster is responsible for the Scout learning ALL skills adequately. If the Scoutmaster has an indication that the Scout did not learn the skill to the level required for the merit badge, then the Scoutmaster should contact the district advancement chair and express a concern.