Are
there two entrance exams - ASVAB and AFQT?
My AFQT score is 62. What does
this mean?
How often can I take the ASVAB?
I’ve heard that the ASVAB administered
on the computer is harder/easier than the paper and
pencil ASVAB. Is this true?
I want to take the ASVAB, but
the recruiter won’t schedule me for a test. What
should I do?
Does the ASVAB differ if I take
it at my school versus at a MEPS or a MET site?
I took the ASVAB at my school.
Can I use those scores to enlist in the military?
Why is there no Spanish version
of the ASVAB?
Why can’t I use my ACT or SAT
score to enter the military?
Are
there two entrance exams — ASVAB and AFQT?
No, there is only one exam — the Armed Services Vocational
Aptitude Battery — ASVAB for short. The ASVAB has 10
tests. Your scores from four of the tests — Word Knowledge
(WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning
(AR), and Mathematics Knowledge (MK) — are combined
to compute your score on what is referred to as the
Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). Scores on the
AFQT are used to determine your eligibility for enlistment
in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps. Scores
on all of the ASVAB tests are used to determine the
best job for you in the military.
back to top
My
AFQT score is 62. What does this mean?
AFQT scores are reported as percentiles between 1-99.
An AFQT percentile score indicates the percentage of
examinees in a reference group who scored at or below
that particular score. For current AFQT scores, the
reference group is a sample of 18 to 23 year old youth
who took the ASVAB as part of a national norming study
conducted in 1997. Thus, your AFQT score of 62 indicates
that you scored as well as or better than 62% of the
nationally-representative sample of 18 to 23 year old
youth.
back to top
How
often can I take the ASVAB?
After you take your initial ASVAB, you must wait one
calendar month to retake the test. You must wait an
additional calendar month to retest a second time. After
that, you must wait six calendar months to retake the
ASVAB. Your scores may be used for enlistment for up
to two years from the date of testing.
back to top
I’ve
heard that the ASVAB administered on the computer is
harder/easier than the paper and pencil ASVAB. Is this
true?
The CAT-ASVAB may seem harder or easier than the paper
and pencil (P&P) ASVAB because the CAT-ASVAB is
tailored to your specific ability level. The P&P-ASVAB
contains some very easy and very hard questions, but
most are of average difficulty. The CAT-ASVAB software
adjusts to your ability level and administers questions
that are best suited for you. If you are above average
ability, you will receive questions that are above average
difficulty. Hence, the CAT-ASVAB may appear more difficult
than the P&P-ASVAB. If you are below average ability,
you will receive questions that are below average difficulty.
Hence, the CAT-ASVAB may appear easier than the P&P-ASVAB.
Even though the questions differ in difficulty across
the CAT-ASVAB and P&P-ASVAB, the reported scores
are statistically linked across the two methods of administration.
Thus, you would be expected to receive a similar score
regardless of whether you take the CAT-ASVAB or the
P&P-ASVAB.
back to top
I
want to take the ASVAB, but the recruiter won’t
schedule me for a test. What should I do?
A recruiter’s primary job is to ensure that applicants
meet all necessary qualifications. Before an applicant
is allowed to test, the recruiter will conduct an interview
looking for disqualifying factors such as too young
or old, too many dependents, a medical problem, drug
usage, or criminal history. If a recruiter has determined
that you are not qualified to enlist, they will not
send you to be tested. Sometimes, recruiters have applicants
take a short pre-screening test to get an estimate of
how they would perform on the AFQT portion of the ASVAB.
Based on these results, the recruiter may choose not
to spend time and resources to send you for full ASVAB
testing. The only way to know for sure is to ask your
recruiter.
back to top
Does
the ASVAB differ if I take it at my school versus at
a MEPS or a MET site?
The ASVAB is given in schools as part of the Career
Exploration Program (also called the Student Testing
Program). The ASVAB is given at MEPS or MET sites as
part of the Enlistment Testing Program. The contents
of the ASVAB are the same across the Student and Enlistment
Testing Programs, except that the Assembling Objects
test is given in the Enlistment Testing Program but
not the Student Testing Program. Different composite
scores are reported across the Student and Enlistment
Testing Programs. The composite scores are formed from
different combinations of scores on the individual ASVAB
tests. In the Student Testing Program, examinees receive
three composite scores called Verbal Skills, Math Skills,
and Science and Technical Skills. In the Enlistment
Testing Program, examinees receive an AFQT score and
Service composite scores, used for military job assignment.
back to top
I
took the ASVAB at my school. Can I use those scores
to enlist in the military?
Your scores can be used to enlist for up to two years
after the date of testing, provided that they can be
verified as being yours.
back to top
Why is
there no Spanish version of the ASVAB?
There are many reasons why the ASVAB is given only
in English. First, all military members need to be able
to speak English. A Spanish version of the ASVAB would
allow applicants that are learning English to show their
general aptitude, but would not give any evidence of
their ability to perform the same tasks in English.
Also, there are many different dialects of Spanish spoken.
If a Spanish ASVAB were given to native Spanish speakers,
applicants speaking a different dialect of Spanish than
the one used in the test might still have difficulty
understanding the test. Finally, it is unlikely that
Spanish and English versions of the ASVAB would measure
exactly the same thing. Scores would likely not have
the same meaning across the Spanish and English versions,
and different evaluation standards would need to be
used across the two different versions. Under such conditions,
it would be difficult to make sure that all applicants
are held to the same standards.
back to top
Why can’t
I use my ACT or SAT score to enter the military?
The ASVAB is designed for a different purpose than
the ACT and SAT. The ASVAB is designed to predict success
in the military, while the ACT and SAT are designed
to predict success in college. As a result, the content
of the ASVAB is different from the content of the ACT
and SAT, and different examinee populations take the
ASVAB and ACT and SAT tests. Therefore, performance
on the ACT or SAT is not necessarily a very good substitute
for performance on the ASVAB, or vice versa. In order
to make sure that all applicants are held to the same
evaluation standards, it is necessary for everyone to
take the ASVAB.
back to top
|
