I enjoyed my time at this driving school. The classroom is clean, the teachers are knowledgable and…read moreopen to questions, and they are accommodating if you have to make up classes. Scheduling behind the wheel sessions is also easy. The instructor is calm and very patient.

Very patient instructor teaching stick driving to a newbie. I would totes higher again.read more

Excellent driving instructors. Took my roads test and passed the first time!…read more Seriously, Mr. Ish and Mr. Teddy are very patient and definitely want you to pass. I had wanted to book extra hours behind the wheel before I scheduled my roads test, but Mr. Ish really pushed me to take it sooner because he felt I was ready. Very glad he did.

I just passed my DC driving test, and its all thanks to the wonderful instruction from this school!…read moreI would recommend them highly to anyone, especially folks like me who are learning as adults. Before my lessons with Mr. Ish, the only driving experience I had as a 36 year old was some parking lot practice, and a one hour lesson with a different school (which I didn't think was very helpful so I didn't continue). I took 5 lessons of 2 hours each (10 hours total) with him and found him to be an incredibly patient and supportive instructor. I had a lot of anxiety going into the whole process, and his calm presence always put me at ease and made me more confident. When I would make a mistake like making too wide of a turn into a streeet, he would point it out but also ask me why I did it that way. It felt like he really wanted to get to the root of the issue to help fix it. In the case of turning too wide, we realized that I was misjudging the distance of my car from the parked cars on the street. This thoughtful approach really helped diagnose and correct issues as they came up and it was so satisfying to visibly see myself improve. His approach to teaching parallel parking was super clear, and I was able to confidently parallel park during the test, and have now also done it in relatively tight spots on DC streets! He also recommended doing a last lesson right before the test in the Deanwood neighborhood (where the DMV test takes place). This was great advice, and Mr. Teddy accommodated me for a pre-test lesson on short notice. I used the school's car for the test, which was helpful since I was familiar with it. The day of the test there was a really long wait at the DMV and Mr. Teddy waited with me patiently and was also really supportive. All the communication and reminders from the school about lesson times, locations were timely and clear, Mr. Ish was always on time for picking me up, and it was just a seamless experience end to end.

Mr. Makonnen is a miracle worker. I was too nervous as passenger driving coach of my 16 year old…read morenew driver. Because my nerves could only take 20 minutes of driving practice, she was not progressing at all. After reading the high reviews, I paid for the extra 10 hours of practice to supplement her current drivers Ed program at another driving school. She drove 5 days straight, 2 hours a day, and I witnessed her drive on the Beltway for 30 minutes straight. She has gained so much confidence in one week, I was comfortable with her driving home after the last class, and now I am ready to ride passenger for the remaining practice hours this summer. Also picked up great coaching techniques by joining the last ride. If you are a scared parent of a new driver, I highly recommend Circle Driving.

Mr. Mekonnen is an excellent instructor, I appreciate that he corrects errors in a way that is…read moreunobstructive. The process for making lessons is easy and convenient. I also appreciate that there's weekend hours available, which makes it easier for working adults who need practice lessons.

If I can, I'll give 10 stars to Jean and APN Driving School! I already had a license but I've been…read morea paper driver for 20 years with an experience of horrible car accident caused by a driver (while I was a passenger). So I had a fear on the road, and none of my friends could teach me either. I decided to try APN simply because it's located very close to my house and had a good review. But after 10 hours of driving sessions with Jean (and literally 10 or 11 days after my decision!), I'm finally confident on the road and very happy! Here are why I recommend him: 1) Jean was calm throughout the time. When I got on the highway for the first time with him was horrible as I didn't know when and how to merge with other cars. I'll be frightened if I sit next to me. LOL. However, he guided me (and my handle) calmly. His low voice is helpful as well not to get me panicked. 2) Jean can observe the student's level/ issues and flexibly give the right routes to practice so that we can overcome the issue. Apparently he knows every road and its characters around the area. As he noticed I have a fear from other side of the car, he took me to the sligo creek. Oh, my. That was scary as the winding road is very narrow. Or I wasn't quite sure how to turn. So he took routes with many turns. 3) Jean is flexible in terms of scheduling. He can work with your schedule. It was like meeting up with friends. Ask for the time, if it works, then confirm over text. Since I was very close to the school, he even picked me up but he came usually about 5 minutes before the starting time. 4) Fun! It was a fun ride every day. Since he's very calm and nice, I could be calm and relaxed (which was not the case when I practiced with my husband...who's very worried me on the road!). 5) Professional. With all the points above, he's professional and not just someone who can drive. He's been teaching for a long time, and know how to guide students. I first thought it's a waste of money if my friends can teach me free, but I'm glad I asked someone professional. I'm much more confident now. Thank you so much, Jean! :D

Mr. Jean is the textbook definition of a teacher. He helped me correct my mistakes on the spot,…read morealways answered any questions I had, and kept a perfect balance between being humorous and serious. APN is a great school and I've come out of it as a much more aware and calm driver!

I cannot say enough good things about IDriveSmart. They taught my two stepkids to drive in high…read moreschool and then when this middle aged, city dwelling mama moved to the suburbs, I ended up calling them too. I had originally paid $800 for private lessons with another school who didn't teach me to drive at all (after 7 private hours of in car lessons, I still didn't know how to reverse!) but ended up redoing my entire program with idrivesmart. When I explained what had happened to me to my instructor on my first day, he had me do nothing BUT reverse for an hour to make sure I felt comfortable. This driving school has created 3 safe, confident drivers, including me, even though I was very scared of driving. The instructors are professional, serious, and thorough and do an amazing job. I can't recommend this company enough. It's not cheap but you get what you pay for and in this case, it's retired + off-duty police officers who will teach your kid (or adult) how to drive SAFELY. I've been on the road for a few months now and I wish more people would go to a school like this.

I had an amazing experience with Officer Lyle, the online teachers, and everyone in the office!…read moreThey were very receptive and easily accessible if you needed anything for whatever reason. Officer Lyle was beyond patient, helpful, and friendly, and he took his time to answer any questions that I had. Thank you, iDriveSmart and Officer Lyle!!

Amazing empathetic and nice teachers. I had a great…read moreexperience every time I went there and have learned a lot.

They phoned it in. Just sat in the car and vegetated while we drove. Did not do any real…read moreinstruction in the car and certainly did not prepare at all for the Montgomery County driving exam. One example - teaching about stop signs and stopping behind the white line. If you see bad habits during the driving instruction that will fail the driving test call them out! Disappointing.

My son took an extra practice two hour driving session with Maurice and had an extremely positive…read moreexperience. Maurice was very patient and helped my son get over his driving phobias. He had my son driving on the beltway back from College Park at the end of the session (something I could never do on my own with him). I highly recommend behind the wheel sessions with Maurice.

Google reviews were great, reviews here were poor, I went with Google's. Big mistake…read more Purchased a single driving lesson for "extra practice" for my teenage daughter. Called the office to explain exactly the driving skills we wanted the instructor to focus on and asked them to note that with the instructor. We arrived early at the Bethesda office. Office was closed with a sign saying their instructors will meet you there if you have a scheduled lesson. When the lesson time came and went, I called the first posted phone number, which was out of service. Not a good sign. The second number was answered, and we were then contacted by the instructor who had parked on the street outside -- the first of multiple communication issues. The instructor had no idea why we had scheduled a lesson. Compared to "the competition" in our area (the one with ex-cops, which we previously used), the instructor was unfriendly and unwelcoming --- not a good thing with a new, un-confident driver. After the lesson, my daughter told me that the instructor hardly gave her feedback while she was driving, gave her turn and other directions at the last second, and told her to slow down instead of speeding up to be closer to highway speed when she was merging onto the highway. When she first entered the car, the instructor was playing loud talk-radio. When my daughter asked if he could turn it off (at least she had the sense not to be playing talk-radio during a driving lesson); he turned it down, not off, until she asked again. I don't expect miracles from a driving school, but we know from experience that Habesha's service and professionalism was far below the competition.

So many 1/0 star reviews here. I think a lot of them might be fueled (a bit) by bitterness, so…read morehere's my two cents. I had no problems scheduling with this company. It was a wonderful option, because the DMV itself literally had no open slots for nearly three months. Crazy. I spent $160 on Dexterity ($100 for an asap test that I got scheduled within a week, and $60 for a rental car because mine doesn't have a center break). More money than I wanted to spend, but still cheaper than continuing to Uber everywhere for another three months. The guy I scheduled with seemed friendly. Then, the day right before the test, I got a call that they were having trouble with my info and I had to get in touch ASAP or I wouldn't be accepted. Sloppy on their end, and I started to think all the 0 star reviews here were true. Fortunately, that worst case scenario didn't pan out; everything got sorted, and they communicated with me well via phone messages and texts while that was happening. I took the test the next day as planned. I was verbally criticized a lot for insignificant things (apparently it's a sin to accelerate going down hill, even if you're keeping it under 25mph? Go figure) but ended up passing with just 5 points deducted (turning too fast once, which did happen). The test is set up so you can get -25 points and still pass by the way, if anyone was curious. I know I was wondering how it was scored before taking it. Most things take off between 2-5 points per instance, although serious stuff can take off 26 for the auto-fail. There was no parking, backing up, or anything technically challenging. Anyways. Other than some weird criticisms (that weren't reflected in my score) my examiner was really friendly and professional. He showed up early, and I was pleasantly surprised when I got to take my 11 am test around 10:30 am (I chronically show up early for things like this, and it was great not having to wait). The school also had a facilitator in the DMV who worked with their examiner and clients, and he also seemed like a decent and helpful person as best I can tell. The actual rental car handled rather poorly (and wasn't the Ford Focus they had said it would be either). It handled well enough for the purpose though, I guess. Besides, it's not really reasonable to expect a driving school to use great cars, given that student drivers probably do bad things to them on a regular basis. It was nice not having to go rent one myself, just from a laziness point of view. Worth the $60 for convenience, I say. My "real" rating is probably 3 stars. It wasn't a stellar experience or anything, but it wasn't at all the awful experience portrayed by many reviews here either. I was pleasantly surprised more than once. I'm going to toss in a bonus 4th star just to counteract the negative exaggerations (imo) of others. Can you find a better 3rd party testing company? Maybe. I have no clue. I imagine you could do worse though, and I'd feel "OK" recommending Dexterity to people who don't want to deal with waiting for an official DMV tester. * * * * * Edit: My biggest unsolicited advice for new drivers testing is that you should simply realize that much of the test is totally ridiculous, and go ahead and embrace that. Yes, you don't /really/ need to look in your mirrors every 10 seconds. And you don't /really/ need the emergency break engaged when parked on a flat surface. And there's nothing wrong with accelerating down hill as long as you watch your speed. But don't fight any of it. Pretend you're in a bad piece of community theater. If you can do that (and can avoid making any legitimately serious mistakes like almost hitting something or being in the wrong lane) I imagine you'll be ok. You can make a lot of small mistakes and still come in at -25 or less for the pass.

Dexterity Driving School is by far the best choice you can make when choosing a certified DC DMV…read moreinstructor to prepare for your behind-the-wheel test. My experience with Jules Kontchou was incredible. I learned to drive with him from my very first steps to becoming fully comfortable on the road and prepared to pass my test within just a few weeks. He is not only professional, flexible, amicable, and kind but also genuinely supportive, involved, and dedicated to helping you succeed! I highly recommend Dexterity Driving School. I know some may be anxious to get behind the wheel and I assure you, if you're instructor is Jules, you won't have anything to worry about! Best, Alix

My daughter took classes here awhile ago. The teachers are amazing and they ran the classes so…read moresmoothly throughout the beginning of COVID last year. My daughter took the drivers test today and ended up passing thanks to everything she learned there! The price is unbeatable and the teachers are warm and welcoming. If i had any younger kids, I would send them here! Best wishes to the teachers Ms Amber, Mr Bryant and one more I cannot remember. Thank you

I had both Mr Bryant and William, they were both hilarious and amazing teachers. Ms Amber was…read moregenuinely caring and assisted me in getting earlier drive times. These people teach with creativity and passion.