I haven’t instructed for 15 years but it was pretty much as remoak and CFI have said. Items in the syllabus had to have been covered and their circuits were at a level of consistency that was predictable and safe. Would I put family in the aircraft with them? No, but I was confident that they weren’t going to hurt themselves, the aircraft or anyone else using the airspace with them. I had a number of students that went solo in under 10 hours and one that went solo in 8. Having said that I had one that eventually went solo in 30 hours and before the Nazis get on here and tell me I was ripping him off I sat down with the gentleman at 15, 20 and 25 hours and explained to him he was above the average and asking him if he wanted to continue. I have never seen someone so over the moon the day I eventually sent him solo.