Research for Military Occupational Specialty

Navy A-school training provides the basic skills necessary for new recruits to become qualified in their ratings. Not all students successfully complete the A-school pipeline they start. This research memorandum examines the reasons for attrition and provides some preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of reclassifying those students.

Navy enlisted specialized skill training has increased consistently throughout the 1980s. This research memorandum examines the increase in the inventory of Navy Enlisted Classifications (NECs) between 1979 and 1986. Factors that explain the increase are considered. Trends in the utilization of NECs are examined for several alternative definitions of utilization. These trends are examined at the aggregate level and for samples disaggregated by rating and experience.

To make informed decisions concerning the allocation and management of military personnel, policymakers must have information that reflects the competence of their personnel -- the extent to which individuals can perform their job requirements. The Marine Corps Job Performance Measurement Project is a significant research effort to produce measures of job proficiency that will allow for such an absolute interpretation of test scores. This research contribution describes a test construction technique that results in the estimation of competency scores. Although the distribution of competency scores has implicit meaning with respect to a domain of job requirements, policymakers often have little knowledge of whether a particular score is acceptable or not. The interpretation of competency scores can be enhanced by establishing interpretative anchors for various performance levels of the competency score distribution. These interpretative anchors assist policymakers by providing a concrete reference against which to base their decisions and are essential in establishing the linkage of aptitude and job performance in determining enlistment standards.

The theory underlying computerized adaptive tests assumes that all items for a given subtest measure a single dimension. This assumption was examined for the math knowledge items in the item pool developed for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Departures from the assumption were found to be minor.