Chapter 2
These diagnostic tests are intended to help guide you in your ASVAB preparation. You’ll learn several things at once by taking these diagnostic tests:
What’s on the ASVAB: This diagnostic test will help you become familiar with the topics and question types that will appear on the ASVAB. After taking the diagnostic test, review your answers carefully, and make mental notes about the question types or topics that seem least familiar.
What your strengths and areas of opportunity are: After you take this diagnostic test, enter your answers into your online resources under the “Diagnostic Test” heading. Doing so will allow you to receive detailed feedback about your strengths and areas of opportunity, not just by subject test but also by question type and/or topic within each subject test.
The diagnostic mimics the paper and pencil ASVAB, rather than the CAT-ASVAB, which means it has more questions than you’ll see on the CAT-ASVAB. There’s a good reason for that: the greater number of questions on this diagnostic test will allow you to see more clearly which topics you need more work on.
How you react to test fatigue: Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted for about three hours. Take this test under timed conditions, one subject after another in the order they appear here. You can take a five minute bathroom break if needed, but don’t let yourself take a long break. This experience will help you assess how ready you are to focus on test material for an extended time period. If you find that fatigue interferes with your performance, be sure to take a full-length test (either in the book or online) each week in the last few weeks before your test date.
Hint: If you run out of time before you finish any given section, be sure to fill in all the blanks on your answer sheet, as there’s no wrong answer penalty on the paper and pencil ASVAB, and some of your guesses could turn out to be correct! Good luck!