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What is ASVAB?
The ASVAB is the admissions and placement test for the US military. All
persons enlisting in the US military are required to take ASVAB. It determines
whether a potential recruit is qualified for the military and for certain
military jobs. Military recruiters also claim that it will help a person choose
a civilian career, but that is not what it was designed for. ASVAB is a three-hour test that consists of 10 sections: Word Knowledge;
Paragraph Comprehension; Arithmetic Reasoning; Mathematics Knowledge; General
Science; Auto and Shop Information; Mechanical Comprehension; Electronics
Information; Numerical Operations; and Coding Speed. The ASVAB is supposed to
look for talent and natural skills in subject areas that are considered
important for different military jobs. Scores from selected individual sections of the test are combined according
to a certain formula to come up with a measure known as AFQT - Armed Forces
Qualifying Test. Congress has established minimum AFQT scores for admission to
the military. Standards vary according to whether a person has a high school
diploma, a GED, or has not graduated from high school. ASVAB is part of a larger program, the Department of Defense Testing Program
(commonly known as the "Career Exploration Program"), through which
students can take surveys about their interests, identify personal
characteristics, and use ASVAB scores to match their backgrounds to possible
careers. How do recruiters use the ASVAB?
The military uses ASVAB to do targeted recruitment of young people.
Recruiters give special attention to students in the 11th or 12th grade who meet
minimum standards - what they refer to as "pre-qualified leads." They
use test information (scores, name, address, etc.) to identify and reach young
people they hope to sign up. Recruiters contact these young people by letters,
phone calls, and visits to home and school. Students may receive calls from
recruiters even if they say they are not interested in joining the military. One
often-used tactic is to leave a message for a student telling him/her of an
appointment with a recruiter, even if the student didn't ask for one. Just
remember, there is no law that requires a student to join the military or to
talk to recruiters. ASVAB is not the only way recruiters get personal information about students.
Typically recruiters obtain contact information (such as name, address, phone
number, courses taken, and extracurricular activities) from the school
administration or district office, but the ASVAB gives them much more personal
information about potential recruits. Are schools required to give the ASVAB test?
No. One of the main reasons schools give ASVAB is that it is offered by the
Pentagon at no charge to the school. Are students required to take the ASVAB?
No. While the military has encouraged schools to have all students take the
ASVAB, students cannot be forced to give this kind of personal information to
the military. Unfortunately some schools tell students that they must take the
test or may try to coerce them (harassment, ridicule, counselors telling
students they won't help them in other ways if they don't take the ASVAB). While
schools may require their students to take an assessment test approved by the
state, there is no legal requirement that students take the ASVAB. Do students have to give personal information on the test form?
Yes, if the student wants the test to be scored. Before taking the test,
students are required to sign a form (known as a "waiver") that allows
the military to keep any information provided on the form (contact information
and scores) and to use it in various ways. If the student does not include all
the information asked for and sign the waiver, the test won't be processed. Who gets test scores?
The military grades the test. They will send a copy of the scores to the
student and the school counselor. In most cases - unless a school decides not to
allow the release of any scores to military recruiters - local military
recruiters are automatically given a copy of scores and the other information
provided on the forms. Local recruiters receive a form known as the ASVAB
Recruiter Service Printout. It contains a list of students who took the test,
their scores, contact information (name, grade, sex, address, and phone number),
and information about the students' plans after graduation. Can a school give the ASVAB test without having scores released to local
military recruiters?
Yes. Schools have eight options regarding the release of test information. At
one end of the spectrum is "Option 8. No release to recruiters."
Recruiters would not receive a printout of students' scores. The default option
for schools is known as "Option 1. No special instructions." Under
this option, recruiters are free to obtain scores and use them however they
wish. In between these two extremes are a number of options specifying when
recruiters may receive full information or whether they will be given access to
phone numbers. Unfortunately, school officials are usually not made aware of
options other than the default (Option 1). Will the ASVAB help a student find the job that is best for him or her?
Because the skills needed for military jobs are often different from those
needed for civilian jobs, the ASVAB test may not really tell a student what he
or she is qualified to do outside the military. In some subject areas the ASVAB may test what a person already knows how to
do, not what he or she could learn to do after receiving training. Because of
this, a student might be told not to try for some careers that he or she could
do well in and would like. The test does not measure interests. Does ASVAB discriminate against certain groups of people?
Yes. Many service members are automatically assigned to non-technical
military jobs because of poor ASVAB scores. As a result, many African-American
service members are assigned to low-skill jobs when they might have been able to
be trained for more technical jobs. Government reports question whether ASVAB is
a good measure of how well a person might do in technical training program if
given the chance. Women are also less likely to get good scores on the mechanical sections of
the ASVAB test because most haven't done much mechanical work in the past. Even
if they would enjoy mechanical work and could learn the skills, they might be
counseled to look for other types of jobs. Also, the ASVAB relies heavily on a person's English skills, even when it is
testing for how well they would do in mechanical jobs. People who have had
problems with their English skills will get lower scores and could be told not
to try for well-paying mechanical jobs that he or she could do. Options for Students and Educators in Opposing ASVAB
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