Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery are tests that determine enlistment eligibility and aptitude for specific military jobs. The Armed Forces Qualification Test is a compilation of scores from the math and verbal portions of the ASVAB test, which is also used to determine enlistment eligibility and placement in jobs. Additionally, a separate Assessment of Individual Motivation test designed by the Army Research Institute is used to measure an applicant's motivation to serve in the armed forces.
For the record (and to get LadyX and COBI back as buds) in spite of what is often portrayed by Hollywood and the media, there aren't many 'slow' folks in the military, in any branch. The current generation of troops are, for the most part, amazingly sharp.
The ASVAB isn't meant to be a pass or fail test, just an indicator of basic abilities. But getting into the services isn't as easy as many folks seem to think. I talked with my youngest's Army recruiter during September and asked if apllications were up because of 9/11. He said they were, but the acceptance rate really hadn't changed because many were applying again after already being turned down before (criminal records pretty much keep one out, but the most common problems were medical). It's to their credit that the services have kept their standards fairly high even in these times of tough recruiting (my rant about those unwilling to risk their tender behinds to serve is a seperate issue...).
'Kiss Up' works...:)))
Speaking of the five General Classification Tests we had in 1952, when my platoon in Basic Training was tested, there was a fellow administering the tests who was - ummm - flirting with me at every opportunity.
Passing out the one on Pattern & Analysis, he whispered, "Now don't be thrown by this one. Just do as much as you can and don't worry if you can't finish it."
Resisting the urge to laugh, I could have told him my four-year high school average for all subjects was 97; won spelling medals in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades - in the 7th, represented Florida in the National Spelling Bee - won the DAR History Award, and upon graduating, the Bausch-Lomb Science Award.
In addition, my father was a consulting engineer who had me at 11 surveying property lines on the 1,000 acres we had with me on the transit), and I was the first girl at Melbourne High (Florida) to take Mechanical Drawing, doing my projects on the board at home and playing in class.
I zipped through the timed test and laid down my pencil and looked up to see an astonished expression on his face - "She FINISHED it?!"
With a possible perfect score of 151 (average around 100 for women), I made a 141.
His lesson on never underestimate the power of a woman...:)))
With the recommendations from my principal and pastor, they took me straight from recruit training to be a classroom subjects instructor for women recruits.
Most were older than I, having turned 18 the month before I enlisted in the Marine Corps, but they thought I was at least 22.
I chose to not go straight to college, accepted to the one from which my mother had graduated (and two older sisters) that was still 'for women only' - a fate worse than death to me! LOL