I was never asked to take a swim test for any scuba class until after earning a rescue cert. The agency required it, the instructors did not.
I have a theory on why some instructors skip the test, even though it is a required standard. My theory is based on my own OW certification, which did not include a swim test, and my later observations as an instructor myself.if she just won an olympic gold in swimming, then why not have her do the swim test? I understand it isn't necessary, but she obviously likes swimming, and it only takes a few minutes. I see this as similar to the gimme in golf, if it is so easy, why not just do it?
My OW experience: My CW experience was in a resort area, in a relatively small pool with a maximum depth of 5 feet. A number of standards were skipped in that experience. I doubt if there were any pools around that were much different. Think of all the pools you have seen in a resort area and ask yourself how many were suitable to swimming laps. I am sure the operator had to pay a fee for our use of that pool, probably based on the length of time we were in it. I am sure the swim test was seen as a very expensive exercise in an unsuitable location.
My Instructional Experience: I have never had a single student fail the test. I want very much to get the class started--I want them in the water with gear on as soon as possible. In my first instructional experience, we had our own pool in the shop, so time was not that much of a factor. Still, I felt very frustrated as time passed with everyone swimming what felt like endless laps when I knew on lap one that they were all going to pass. In my current instructional experience, we have to rent time in a local pool, and we have very strict start and stop times. That pool time is extremely expensive--it is the chief overhead cost of the class. My frustration as I watch students waste valuable time in this exercise, again when it is so very obvious that they are going to pass once enough valuable time has passed.
I am not NAUI, but it is my understanding that a NAUI instructor is allowed to curtail the swim test once the student has gone far enough to satisfy the instructor's interest in the student's ability to swim. I am happy to be corrected on this, but I sure wish I had this freedom.