"A couple of people...the ones that had bought their gun just to attend this class had trouble hitting a man sized silhouette at 7 yards...one lady put two round out of two magazines in the black...you need to hit 11 out of 20 to pass the range portion of the test."
Many people, maybe most, do not know how to hit a target. You must keep your eye on the target, not the gun. If you eye wavers off the target, you likely will not hit it.
You can practice by throwing a wad of paper into a trash can. If you keep your eye on the trash can, you will likely hit it. If you don't keep your eye there but look at the wad of paper when you throw, you will likely miss.
Two real life instances:
I was going fishing with my husband and he said I should practice outside with my rod and reel before we went. I said I didn't need to do that. We got to the lake, and he showed me a spot where fish would be. He said, "You are not going to hit it because you didn't practice." I threw the line out and it landed directly where he said. He said, "Damn, I had to practice a long time before I hit anything." It was eye on the target that guided that line.
I went to a gun range with my son and his wife. I was in my early fifties and that was my first time at a gun range. I had an old Colt 35 revolver. I raised the gun, used the gun sight to find the spot in the middle of the target, kept my eye on it and pulled the trigger. It went in the center of the target. My daughter-in-law said, "She shoots better than I do and we go all the time!" She was not happy with my performance.
Keep your eye on the target.