Big J,
I don't know about baseball but for football it is a program for the new officials and they keep doing it until they pass the written exam. For my area it was a total nightmare before my umpire and I took it over.

We start June 7th and run for 13 straight weeks, then 8 more classes during the season. We cover 3, 4 & 5 man mechanics. ECO operation. Chain crew mechanics. Uniforms and equipment. Cover rules 1 to 10. Many many different test! Test prep for the final state exam. If the cadet does not make it to the test or fails the test he can repeat in the program. Currently you have basically three years to pass the test before you are dropped.

We averaged 2-3 guys passing each year before we took over the program. In the last three years we have had 24 guys pass. Last year we passed 100% 7 for 7!