Research for Personnel Classification Tests

The the feasibility of validating ASVAB enlistment standards against job performance is evaluated. Hands-on and written proficiency tests were developed for three Marine Corps skills--Ground Radio Repair, Automotive Mechanic, and Infantry Rifleman--for use as measures of job performance. In addition, grades in skill training courses were also evaluated as possible measures of job performance. The ASVAB was shown to be a valid predictor of job performance. All three measures--hands-on tests, written tests, and training grades--were generally consistent measures of performance. A preliminary set of ASVAB qualification standards for assigning recruits to these three skills was computed using the hands-on and written tests as the criterion measure. The ASVAB standards derived from this analysis are similiar to the standards based on the traditional criterion measure of training-course grades. We conclude that validating ASVAB enlistment standards against job performance appears to be feasible. Although job performance tests can be used for this purpose, they are costly to develop and administer. Training grades, which are routinely available, may serve as a satisfactory and economical proxy for them in many skills.

Addresses the concerns of personnel managers about the accuracy of the ASVAB score scale. The report attempts to determine the causes of the error in the scale and to verify that the corrections to the scale did in fact restore the traditional meaning of the ASVAB scores.

This report examines the validity of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) forms 6 and 7. Validity in this analysis is the correlation between ASVAB test scores and subsequent performance in military training courses. Recruits are assigned to specific military training based, in part, on their scores on subgroups of tests (aptitude composites) contained in the ASVAB. We determined the most appropriate aptitude composite, and minimum acceptable score on that composite, for assignment to each training course. ASVAB forms 6 and 7 (the source of test score data for this analyses) are compared with the recently introduced ASVAB forms 8, 9, and 10. Based on this comparison we consider the results of our validity analyses of ASVAB forms 6 and 7 to be applicable for recruit assignment using ASVAB forms 8, 9, and 10.

This paper examines alternative enlistment standards to increase the supply of recruits while maintaining current retention standards. The use of additional ASVAB tests, changes in waiver policy, equivalency diploma quality measures, and separate SCREENS for A school and apprenticeship trainees are studied as possible policies to increase recruit supply.