Posted on 12/18/2005 9:50:43 AM PST by 68skylark
Unfortunately, his reports on Army recruiting in the last few months have contained bad news -- he writes that the Army and Army Reserve have met their recruiting goals only by accepting way too many recruits from the lowest aptitude category. (These recruits were 12% of the total in October, and probably about the same in November.) At the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, the Army can only have 4% of recruits from this category (unless the law gets changed).
So our current recruiting success looks unsustainable for now.
The lowest aptitude category is still acceptable. If these recruits aren't acceptable, then they need to up their standards.
50% of people are of below average intelligence.
Hmmmmmmm. Sounds like more dimocRATS are starting to sign up.
Lowest aptitude? I can't believe that many Democrats are volunteering. He must be wrong.
This was not an 'official' release.
"said officials who requested anonymity."
I smell BS!
Can we get a look at the test?Scoring between 16 and 30 out of 99 on any valid test is frightening.What are the IQ scores of these people-between 60 and 85?
Harvard graduates will be lining up at the recruiters' offices for a job with benefits!!
Just you wait and see.
I'm not sure what point you're making. I wish we had so many people interested in joining the Army that we didn't have to accept any recruits from Category IV -- those who score 16 to 30 on the ASVAB.
It really isn't a problem. With a booming economy the tendency is for those with higher aptitudes to get work in the private sector. There's also the fact that lower aptitude does not mean as much as it seems to. The real test is in how they perform during the training. If they can't hack it, they can't hack it, and that's that. The aptitude tests are just a way to filter out the least likely candidates from wasting time in training them.
I'm sure a lot of the "low aptitude" candidates accepted for training will do fine, and will probably go on to honorable service. And when they come out, they'll have proven that aptitude test scores do not define their potential.
Unfortunately, that's not as much of a joke as you might think. There was a report not too long ago that said military recruiting is badly hurt by blue-state urban high schools -- not because of left-wing teachers and staff, but because the quality of the education is so abysmal that few students can qualify for military service.
In other words, intelligence isn't a problem, but terrible schooling is.
Okay, this is what needs to happen. I'm not worried about these RECRUITS as long as the Sarges that are there to bring them along take care of them, these RECRUITS will become part of the BEST of the BEST. Obviously they are products of the public school systems of today. This is not a problem for SARGE, he will bring them along in a proficient Military Manner.
If they really did accept recruits with these low test scores, then why isn't there an 'official' release of information?
Although the recruiting numbers may correctly reflect the recruiting goals of the military, the rest is pure BS.
Why would anyone believe an 'anonymous' source?
This is from About.com (http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/asvababcs_2.htm)
What's an "ASVAB Score?"
There is no overall "ASVAB Score." When you hear someone saying "I got an 80 on my ASVAB," they are talking about their AFQT (Armed Forces Qualifying Test) score, not an "overall" ASVAB Score.
The AFQT is important. It determines whether or not you can join the military. The AFQT score is not derived from all portions of the ASVAB. Indeed, the AFQT score is determined from only four areas of the ASVAB: Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Mathematics Knowledge (MK).. The score is computed as follows:
The first step is to determine your Verbal Expression (VE) Score. This is done by adding the value of your ASVAB Word Knowledge (WK) Score to the values of your Paragraph Comprehension (PC) Score. This result is then compared to a chart which gives you your scaled VE Score.
The formula to derive the AFQT "raw Score" is 2VE + AR (Arithmetic Reasoning) + MK (Mathematics Knowledge).
It's important to understand here that the AFQT score is not computed with the AR "Line Score" and the MK "Line Score" that you see on your ASVAB scores sheet. The AR and MK scores shown on the score sheet is "number correct." However, the score used to compute AFQT score is the "weighted score," which takes into consideration the difficulty level of the question.
This formula results in the AFQT "raw score," which is then converted into a percentile score.
In 1980, a study, known as the "Profile of American Youth," was conducted by the Department of Defense in cooperation with the Department of Labor. DOD administered the ASVAB to a total of 11,914 individuals, ranging in age from 16 to 23, from July to October 1980. The purpose of the Profile of American Youth was to obtain data on the vocational aptitudes of current youth and to establish current national norms for the ASVAB.
The person's AFQT score is a percentile score, based on the population of test-takers in the above study. The percentiles are based upon a 99 point scale with 99 being the highest.
1. Yep.
2. So true.
It's a depressing thought.
That was my first thought. Poor, urban youths would probably benefit the most from Military service as far as preparing them to become responsible, productive citizens. As long as they can perform their assigned duties, let them in!
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