Advancement

ADVANCEMENT

The Boy Scout advancement program provides a ladder of skills that a Scout climbs at his own pace. As the scout acquires these skills he moves up through a series of ranks and is awarded badges: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, Eagle, and Eagle Palms.

There are four advancement steps:

The Scout Learns

The Scout is Tested (by someone* approved by the Scoutmaster)

The Scout is Reviewed (Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review)

The Scout is Recognized (Court of Honor)

*In Troop 50, this is usually done by a Patrol Leader who has been tested by a Troop Guide, Assistant Scoutmaster or Scoutmaster.

Advancement is not a goal. It is a natural outcome of a planned, quality troop program.

The troop has no advancement policy except to follow the Guide to Advancement by Scouts BSA. To see the rank requirements for each rank, click here.

SCOUTBOOK:

Scoutbook is the online and official record of a scout's advancement, merit badges, awards, and activity. Once a scout has had his physical handbook signed by his Patrol Leader or an ASM, he can show his Patrol Advisor or the Scoutmaster his handbook and Scoutbook can be updated.

What does it mean to mark a requirement as COMPLETED?

A scout or a parent can mark a requirement as completed. This is a way for the scout to keep a record of what he has learned (Step ONE of the advancement process).

There are two ways for an individual requirement to be approved in Scoutbook by the Scoutmaster:

1) The Patrol Advisor (not the parent of the scout or the scout himself) marks a requirement as completed. He will only do this if he knows the scout has been tested by the Patrol Leader. (Step TWO of the advancement process)

2) The Patrol Leader signs the scout's physical Scout Handbook and the SCOUT shows this to his Patrol Advisor or the Scoutmaster. With this proof that the scout has been tested, the Patrol Advisor can mark the requirement as completed and the Scoutmaster can mark the requirement as approved in Scoutbook.