ASVAB Logistics

Registering for and Taking the ASVAB

Unless you are taking the ASVAB at your high school as part of the Department of Defense Career Exploration Program, your first step toward registering to take the ASVAB is to visit the local recruiter for the service branch that you wish to join. The recruiter will help you complete your enlistment application; you will need to provide necessary documentation. Once you have met the basic qualifications for enlistment, the recruiter will schedule your ASVAB test.

ASVAB results are valid for two years. After taking an initial ASVAB test, you may retake it after 30 days. After the first retest, you may take another retest 30 or more days later. If you have had two retests, you must wait at least six months before taking the test again.

How to Read Your ASVAB Scores

Your official ASVAB scores will come in a variety of styles and will be fully explained to you by your guidance counselor or recruiter. All of the scores matter, though some may matter more than others. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you will find.

AFQT Score—You will receive a single numerical score for the AFQT.

Standard Scores—You will receive a “Standard Score” for each of the subtests. These scores are calculated using a comparison of your raw scores to the raw scores of a standard national sample. According to the Department of Defense, roughly half the population achieves a Standard Score of 50 or above but only about 16 percent scores higher than 59.

Service Composite Scores—These score combinations, sometimes called Line Scores, are used to determine whether a test taker has the necessary vocational aptitude to be trained for different job assignments in all the military branches. For example, a Navy “Engineering Aid” composite score (abbreviated “EA”) is the sum of twice the Mathematics Knowledge score plus the Arithmetic Reasoning and General Science scores. An enlistee must achieve a minimum composite score for the vocation of interest to be able to qualify to be trained for the job. To cite another example, to qualify for electronics training and occupations in the Army, you must attain a certain score that combines your results on the General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, and Electronics Information tests. For more detailed information, contact your local recruiter or visit the website for your service branch of interest.

Career Exploration Scores—In addition to the Standard Scores, students who take the ASVAB in their high schools as part of the Career Exploration Program also receive three Career Exploration Scores in the composite areas of Verbal Skills, Math Skills, and Science and Technical Skills, which are all reported as standard scores and as percentiles relative to grade in school and gender.

Different Versions of the ASVAB

Depending upon your reasons for taking the ASVAB and your stage in the career decision-making process, you will take on one of the following three versions of the test battery:

Enlistment Testing Program ASVAB

This version of the ASVAB, sometimes referred to as the Production Version, is used for enlistment purposes only and is administered to potential enlistees in all branches of the military. A potential recruit’s performance on the ASVAB subtests is used to determine whether the candidate has the necessary aptitudes to enlist in a desired branch of service and for which military jobs the candidate is best suited.

Career Exploration Program ASVAB

This is a paper-and-pencil, eight-subtest version of the ASVAB that is administered, along with an interest inventory, to high school and postsecondary students as part of the Department of Defense’s Career Exploration Program. The content and format of this ASVAB are the same as the enlistment paper-and-pencil version, with two exceptions: the Assembling Objects subtest is not given, and the Auto and Shop Information subtests are combined into one subtest.

Armed Forces Classification Test (AFCT)

Also known as the “In-Service” ASVAB, the AFCT is administered to those already in the military who are looking to switch jobs within the military. It is identical to the paper-and-pencil version of the ASVAB given prior to enlistment.

The Paper-and-Pencil Test vs. the CAT

“Computer-adaptive testing,” or CAT for short, is just a fancy way of saying that the difficulty of the questions you get on the test adapts based on your performance up to that point.

The diagram below models how a computer-adaptive test works. In the diagram, each dot represents a question. Each question is labeled with whether the test taker got the question correct (C) or incorrect (I). The graph also shows the difficulty of each question.

The first question you will see will be of medium difficulty—that is, it will be aligned to the average ability of test takers. Notice that each time you answer a question correctly, you “earn” a more difficult question, which is aligned to a higher scoring level. Each time you give a wrong answer, your next question will be easier and thus aligned to a lower scoring level. The CAT continues to adapt until you are getting roughly half of the questions you see correct. Once your performance has stabilized in this way, the CAT determines your score based on the difficulty level around which your answers are hovering.

Studies have shown that, overall, people perform the same on the ASVAB whether they take the paper or CAT version of the test. There are, however, some individuals who will tend to do better on one version of the test than the other. Now, you may not have a choice regarding which version of the ASVAB you take. If you do have a choice as to which version of the test you will take, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of taking the CAT versus the paper test:

Advantages of Taking the CAT-ASVAB

Disadvantages of Taking the CAT-ASVAB