ASVAB Introduction

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, is not a single test; rather, it is a battery of tests designed to determine the individual skills and abilities of personnel intending to enter the military services. In high schools, it is often used as a basic aptitude test.

Where the military is concerned, the ASVAB has two purposes; the first purpose is to determine whether the potential recruit meets basic enlistment requirements. That portion of the ASVAB used for this purpose, sometimes referred to as the "core" battery of tests, makes up the AFQT or Armed Forces Qualifying Test. The AFQT comprises about half of the entire ASVAB. The rest of the ASVAB may be regarded as an aptitude test of abilities and skills needed in various military occupations. An aptitude test is designed to ferret out strengths and weaknesses and a recruit's qualifications to perform specific military jobs.

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Provided one is otherwise eligible to enter military service, the ASVAB test results are not pass-fail. There is no passing or failing score on ASVAB. The person who takes the ASVAB test may be strong in some areas and weaker in others. The individual's strengths, skills, and abilities will provide some indication of success in the military occupation service field selected.

The ASVAB is administered at thousands of secondary schools to eligible high school seniors. The ASVAB is also administered at any of a number of processing centers or MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Stations), which the various branches of the military maintain in different locations. In cases where the distance to a high school or military test center is substantial, the test can be administered through a METS outlet. METS stands for Mobile Examining Team Site. A METS site is a mobile unit of personnel and material that can reach out of the way places.

The ASVAB is required by all branches of military service, and if the test is taken at one of the military processing test centers, the results may be made available to Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard.

Taking the ASVAB is of particular importance to those persons with a desire to obtain military training in a specific area of military service. Communications, engineering, and law enforcement are just a few examples where specialized training is required. For recruiting intending to enter these or other specialized fields, the ASVAB doubles as a basic requirement and an aptitude test. The ASVAB aptitude sections of the test measure whether the future enlistee has the skills necessary for success in specialized fields such, as ground transportation, medical services, electronics, communications, accounting, aviation mechanics, and a variety of other specialized areas.

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