Thank you for choosing Kaplan to help you study for the ASVAB! We are honored to be part of your preparation for a military career. Your Kaplan book and Online Center contain all the resources you need to succeed on Test Day and earn your place in a branch of the armed services.
Your Kaplan book contains:
Your Kaplan Online Center offers:
Between the Kaplan book and Online Center, you have over 500 practice items at your disposal, as well as multiple tools to help personalize your studies to your individual needs. In other words, you’ve already purchased the only resource you’ll need to achieve your goals on the ASVAB.
Perhaps you are already pretty good at the ASVAB, but you need to brush up on specific skills or to review all of the skills quickly before Test Day. Or perhaps you feel moderately confident about the ASVAB but you need some significant review on some or all of the topics. Or perhaps, like many people, you have forgotten much of what you learned in high school and you need a comprehensive review.
Kaplan’s book and online resources will help you prepare for the ASVAB regardless of which of those groups you fall into. The chart below outlines the different approaches you might take depending on your needs. Of course, your individual situation may vary; these are simply broad guidelines.
| If you need a quick brush-up or light overall review . . . | If you need a moderate review of some or all of the topics . . . | If you need to (re)learn many of the skills from scratch . . . |
| Start by devoting one week to each of the subject tests. During each of those weeks, read the appropriate chapter and do the practice items in the book. | Use the results from your diagnostic to identify your areas of greatest need. Start by devoting two weeks to each of those subject tests. During each of those weeks, read the appropriate chapter and do the practice items in the book. | Give yourself plenty of time to work through this book, chapter by chapter. Periodically review the earlier chapters so that those skills do not rust. |
| After you’ve completed your comprehensive review, take a full-length test in the book or online. If you haven’t seen significant improvement, continue to work on the areas you find most challenging. Take another full-length test every week or two, depending on your test date. | After you’ve done so, take a full-length test in the book or online to gauge your progress. Continue to study and take a full-length test every week or two, depending on your Test Day. In the last few weeks before Test Day, give a week or several days to each of the subtests on which you were already strong. |
Don’t take many full-length tests until you’ve reviewed most of the subject tests. In the last few weeks before Test Day, take a full-length practice test (either in the book or online) once a week or once every two weeks, depending on your test date. |
To obtain access to your Kaplan Online Center, visit http://kaptest.com/booksonline. Create your account by choosing "ASVAB" and answering the question or questions that appear.
Once you have created your username and password, log into your resources at www.kaptest.com. Click "log in" at the top of the page and enter your username and password. Click on your ASVAB Online Center to see your resources.
Chapter 2 of this book offers a full-length diagnostic test. As a first step in your studies, set aside about three uninterrupted hours when you can take the diagnostic test. Work through the subject tests in the order they’re presented, with one break at most.
After you’ve taken the complete diagnostic test, check your answers using the explanations that appear immediately after the tests. Then go to the "Diagnostic Test" portion of your online resources in order to enter your answers. You’ll receive detailed feedback about your diagnostic test, broken down not just by subject test but also by topic and/or question type within each subtest.
Also, as you’re checking your answers, don’t just check to see if you got the question right or not. Rather, read the explanations for all the questions. That’s because you can learn a great deal from reviewing questions you’ve already done, even if you got those questions right. As you review your performance on the diagnostic, really think about why the right answers are right, why the wrong answers are wrong, and what drew you to the answer you chose.
You’re going to want to set some goals regarding your ASVAB score, but different enlistees will have different priorities in studying for the ASVAB, depending on their career aspirations. For example, a test taker who wants to go into a technical career (such as equipment or computer technician) will likely need high scores in Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Mathematics Knowledge, Arithmetic Reasoning, General Science, and Mechanical Comprehension. However, a test-taker who wants to go into a career repairing structures or vehicles should likely emphasize Auto Information and Shop Information over General Science.
Your recruiter is the best source of information about careers in the military and the scores you will need to earn to be competitive for those careers. Use information from your recruiter as well as information available on the various branches’ websites to inform your ASVAB score goals.
Once you have taken your diagnostic and established some goals regarding your ASVAB score, you’re ready to get down to serious studying. Effective studying has three phases: learn, practice, review.
Learn: Each subject test on the ASVAB has its own chapter in this book. Read these chapters carefully, and pay particular attention to these features:
Practice: Practice items are sprinkled throughout each chapter. Do each one as you come to it, and then carefully review the explanation that follows. Moreover, each chapter ends with a practice set. Don’t time yourself on these practice questions. It’s more important to really understand how the questions work; you can work on timing later.
When you do these practice sets, don’t just tally up how many you got right. Rather . . .
Review: Always review the explanation for every practice problem. Think about why the right answer is right and why the wrong answer is wrong. If you answered the question incorrectly, think carefully about where your thinking went astray and use that to inform your next steps. (For example, in an algebra problem, perhaps you understood the underlying concept but you made a simple addition error. In that case, the remedy would not be to study more algebra; rather, the remedy would be to practice adding and subtracting quickly while avoiding errors.) If you answered the question correctly, ask yourself if you got it right for the right reasons, and if you could have arrived at the same answer more efficiently.
Repeat this process every time you take a full-length test. Review all the answers and explanations for every item in the test, as well as thinking about how you performed overall.
Once you have learned, practiced, and reviewed all of the test concepts, use the full-length tests available in your book and Online Center. Taking a full-length test helps you in four ways:
Now, you’ll notice that one item not on that list is "helping you learn concepts." You don’t learn how to approach questions correctly by taking a full-length test: that learning should be done in an untimed fashion and accompanied by deep thinking, as described above. That’s why we don’t recommend that you start your studies by taking a bunch of full-length tests. However, the last few weeks before Test Day are a perfect time to take full-length tests.
Your Kaplan book has two full-length practice tests in the back. These follow the ASVAB’s paper and pencil format. You also have an additional practice test in your Online Center. This is a computer-based test that will help you get used to testing using a computer under the time constraints used by the CAT-ASVAB. While the computer-based test in your online account is not adaptive, its structure does allow you to prepare for the CAT-ASVAB’s format and content.
You have a lot riding on the ASVAB. However, you’re also doing the work you need to do to reach your goals. Unfortunately, though, simply knowing that you’re working hard won’t make your test anxiety go away. Thus, here are some stress-management tips from our long experience of helping students prepare for standardized tests.
Clock in and out: Once you’ve set up a study schedule for yourself, treat it like a job. That is, imagine clocking yourself in and out of ASVAB studies according to that schedule. Do your best to stick to stick to your schedule, and when you’re not "clocked in," don’t let yourself think about the ASVAB. That will help you release your stress about the test in between study sessions.
Don’t punish yourself: If you get tired or overwhelmed or discouraged when studying, don’t respond by pushing yourself harder. Rather, step away and engage in a relaxing activity like going for a walk, watching a movie, or playing with your cat or dog. Then, when you’re ready, return to your studies with fresh eyes.
Breathe: Remember to breathe into your stomach. That forces some of the muscles that tense up when you’re stressed to relax.
Set small, manageable goals: Each week, set manageable goals related to your ASVAB progress, and reward yourself when you’ve achieved them. Examples of small goals might be:
Keep yourself healthy: Poor health, fatigue, and isolation make it harder to cope with stress and anxiety. Get on a regular sleep schedule as much as possible during your studies, eat well, continue to exercise, and spend time with those you care about. Also, don’t fuel your studies with caffeine and sugar. Those substances may make you feel alert, but they can also damage focus.
Keep the right mindset: Most importantly, keep telling yourself that you can do this. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’re not "allowed" to feel confident yet. That’s a self-punishing attitude that will only hurt you. Rather, remember that confidence breeds success. So let yourself be confident about your abilities. You’re obviously ambitious and intelligent, so walk into the ASVAB knowing that about yourself.
If you get discouraged, make a list: If you ever start to wonder if you’ll ever reach your ASVAB goals, stop what you’re doing and make a list of everything you’re good at. List every specific skill that you are bringing to the ASVAB. Examples of specific skills might include:
Post that list of things you’re good at somewhere you’ll see it every day, and add to it as you continue to study. We at Kaplan recommend this because many people focus too heavily on their weaknesses while preparing for a standardized test. But if you only focus on your weaknesses, you aren’t seeing an objective picture. There are ASVAB skills you’re good at. Keep that in mind and focus on building on those strengths.
In the last few weeks before Test Day, do a comprehensive review of all ASVAB topics. Pay particular attention to the subject tests that are most important to your preferred career(s) and to the four subject tests that are most important for enlistment. (Those are Mathematics Knowledge, Arithmetic Reasoning, Paragraph Comprehension, and Word Knowledge; see chapter 1 for more information.) Take a full-length test once or twice a week, and use the results of those full-lengths to inform your review.
Be sure to contact your recruiter to find out more about what to expect from Test Day-what you should bring with you, when you can expect your scores (if you’re taking the paper version of the ASVAB), and other specifics.
Your activities in the last week before Test Day should include:
Rest: Make sure you’re on a regular sleep schedule.
Rehearse: Find out where your testing center is located and consider doing a "dry run." That is, drive or commute to the testing center around the same time of day as your testing appointment. You don’t want to be surprised by traffic or road construction on Test Day.
Review: Do a very brief, high-level review. In other words, flip through the lessons and rework a few practice problems here and there to reinforce all of the good habits you’ve developed in your preparation. (Redoing practice problems you’ve already done is fine: you can actually learn a lot that way about how to approach those types of questions more efficiently in the future.)
Stop: Two days before the test, stop studying. No studying at all: you’re not likely to learn anything new in those two days, and you’ll get a lot more out of walking into the test feeling rested.
Relax: The evening before the test, do something fun but not crazy or tiring. Maybe you could have a nice dinner (without alcohol), watch a movie, or do something else relaxing.
Go to bed at your usual time the night before the exam.
On the day of the test, be sure to follow the guidance below:
Warm up: Before you take the test, do an ASVAB warm-up. This can help your brain get ready to function at its best. You probably can’t take any practice materials into the testing center, but you can do a few easy practice problems at home or in the car before you go into the testing center.
Don’t let nerves derail you: If you feel nervous while taking the test, remember to breathe deeply into your stomach. Take a few deep breaths and focus your eyes on something other than the computer screen or test booklet for a moment.
Keep moving: Don’t let yourself get bogged down on any one question. If you’re taking the paper version, you can come back to questions that you weren’t sure about, so skip questions whenever they threaten to slow you down or to steal time from the other questions. If you’re taking the CAT-ASVAB, you can’t return to previous questions, so you will have to decide to make a guess whenever a question is threatening to take too much time.
Don’t assess yourself: This is very important. As you’re testing, don’t let yourself stop and think about how you feel you’re doing. Taking a standardized test hardly ever feels good. Your own impressions of how it’s going are totally unreliable. So, instead of focusing on that, remind yourself that you’re prepared and that you are going to succeed, even if you feel discouraged as the test is underway.
After the test, celebrate!
You’ve prepared, practiced, and performed like a champion. Now that the test is over, it’s time to congratulate yourself on a job well done. Celebrate responsibly with friends and family, and enjoy the rest of your day, knowing you just took an important step toward reaching your goals.
Everyone at Kaplan wishes you the very best in your studies, on the ASVAB, and in your military career. We’re rooting for you!