GAO report highlights TSA’s need to utilize complete data to improve screener training at airports

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Wednesday that found that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should ensure testing data is complete and fully utilized to improve screener training and operations.

The TSA uses a variety of programs to train and evaluate transportation security officers (TSOs) who are responsible for screening passengers and baggage for threats to security. Since 2013, TSA has been phasing in a program to evaluate its training to inform its use of training resources.

The TSA measures TSO performance in a variety of ways, including annual proficiency reviews, assessments of x-ray machine operators’ ability to identify prohibited items by displaying fictional threat items and utilizing covert testing programs that use role players to take prohibited items through screening checkpoints. The GAO report found that TSA data on the results of annual proficiency reviews and covert testing on how TSOs interact with the public show that pass rates varied by airport security risk category.

The TSA said that due to software compatibility issues and a lack of automatic uploading capability, airport reporting on assessments of x-ray machine operators was not complete. For data that TSA did collect, the agency said that it did not take the necessary steps to analyze the data nationwide.

The GAO report recommended that the TSA collect complete data on assessments of x-ray machine operators, analyze the data nationally for opportunities to enhance TSO performance and track the implementation of covert testing recommendations.