Research for Military Occupational Specialty

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Total Force Enlistment Programs Simulation - Volume II
June 1, 1987
This Research Memorandum presents technical appendixes to supplement the Total Force Enlistment Programs Simulation. It is divided into four sections. Appendix A contains a guide to assist users of the simulation methodology. In addition to a detailed example of the use of the simulation, it discusses some of the potential uses not explored in Volume I. Appendix B is a description of the methods used in computing the active-duty inventories and continuation behavior. It also lists some of the important active-duty data elements used in the simulation, as well as the major computer programs used to generate these data. Appendix C presents similar descriptions for the SELRES data. A flowchart of the simulation methodology and annotated versions of the simulation programs appear in Appendix D.
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Marine Corps Project to Validate the ASVAB Against Job Performance
May 1, 1987
The Marine Corps conducted an initial validation study in 1981 to evaluate the predictive validity of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) against hands-on and written job performance tests. This report reviews the initial study in light of the services' experience since 1981.
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Development of 10th Grade Norms for the ASVAB
May 1, 1987
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is administered in high schools and postsecondary schools as part of the Defense Department's Student Testing Program. Unit 1986, high school norms based on a national sample, were available for grades 11 and 12 only. These were computed from data collected in 1980 as a part of the Profile of American Youth (PAY) study. Additional data from a nonrandom sample were collected in 1984 by the Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM). The objective of the present study was to develop norms for 10th grade. Tenth grade norms were developed by transforming MEPCOM cumulative percentages into national percentile scores. Transformation curves were obtained by combining information from MEPCOM and PAY samples in grades 11 and 12. The average transformation was then used in 10th grade to convert MEPCOM cumulative percentages into national percentile scores.
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Alternative Modeling Approaches for Setting Cost-Effective Qualification Standards
May 1, 1987
The Rand Corporation has developed a model that determines cost-effective enlistment standards for Military Occupational Specialties. Since this model may have an impact on enlistment policy, it is important that the modeling approach used to determine the enlistment standards be fully understood. This research memorandum describes the modeling technique used by the Rand Corporation and compares the Rand approach to alternative modeling methods in an attempt to determine the sensitivity of the model outcome to the methodology employed.
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Issues in the Development of a Competency Scale: Implications for Linking Job Performance and Aptitude
April 1, 1987
The selection of test content and the construction of job performance tests has not followed any specific methodology. For determining qualification standards on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), a more absolute interpretation is required of the performance test scores. This report proposes that a domain-referenced approach is necessary for the linkage of job performance and aptitude in determining standards on the ASVAB. This absolute interpretation of test scores, called competency-based measurement, is based upon two critical requirements of the test construction process: detailed specification of the job requirements domain and appropriate sampling of test content from that domain.
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The Joint Specialist Community Model
February 1, 1987
A joint specialist is an Officer who has attended a joint professional military education school such as the Armed Forces Staff College followed by a joint-duty assignment. This research memorandum describes the Joint Specialist Community Model designed to provide Navy policymakers and planners with information for managing joint billets and the joint specialist community in ranks O-4 through O-6. The model uses variables such as the average billet length and promotion rates to determine both the size of the joint specialist community and the number of O-6s able to meet the joint service requirement for promotion to ranks O-7 and above (i.e., flag). The model has been installed on a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet to facilitate its use in studying policy options.
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Equivalent-Groups Versus Single-Group Equating Designs for the Accelerated CAT-ASVAB Project
January 1, 1987
Before a Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) can be implemented it must be equated to the pencil-and-paper version. This Research Memorandum reports analysis on the appropriateness of various equating designs.
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Affiliation of Navy Veterans with the Selected Reserve
December 1, 1986
This paper analyzes the factors that may influence the decision of first-term enlisted Navy veterans to join the Selected Reserve. A model of the determinants of affiliation is developed and estimated using data on active Navy separations and Reserve accessions from 1979 to 1985. Unique features of the model and estimation are that they combine all forms of pay into one variable, incorporate demand constraints, adjust for simultaneity between bonus eligibility and affiliation rates, and use a more comprehensive data set than has been available before. Affiliation is found to depend on Reserve pay, unemployment rates, geographic area, race, sex, paygrade, and Navy rating.
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User's Guide to the Claritas Zip Code Data Set
December 1, 1986
The Claritas data set was created in the summer of 1985 and contains all the zip codes within 100 miles of 426 Reserve centers. This paper describes the data set and contents, and explains specific uses of the file.
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From Hands-On Measurement to Job Performance: The Issue of Generalizability
October 1, 1986
The generalization from hands-on test scores to performance in a military occupation specialty can be threatened by many potential sources of error within the measurement process. Such sources of error can include scoring inconsistencies by test administrators, testing over a long period, and diverse test content. This analysis estimates the influence of these factors on the hands-on scores for three Marine Corps specialties. Estimates of test reliability are discussed in light of the effect the measurement factors on the hands-on scores. Research designs to assess specific issues of reliability are proposed for the full-scale administration of hands-on tests to the Infantry occupational field.
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