I had no problems with skills going into my IDC, therefore the IDC was skill review and learning the "PADI Way". All 8 of us passed the IE easily. I observed my wife's IDC and IE. She was in a class of 1 and breezed the IDC. Over half of the IE failed, and most of the rest should have. I've never seen such a poor demonstration of rescue skills in my life, and while I couldn't watch the underwater demonstrations, the examiner actually had to teach one candidate to hover. That candidate is now a PADI instructor. The system is set up for you to pass, because PADI actually expects only a very small percentage of instructors ever to actually teach something, but they can collect dues and kickbacks on your liability insurance while you pay for them. For instance, I only taught actively for a year, and my wife never did, but I've paid dues and bought insurance for the past 15. Her too.