Since the military is not for everyone, there are certain standards and requirements that are set by Congress for enlistment. Many of these standards can be based on medical history, testing scores, criminal history, immigration status, and age. Not everyone is accepted into the military, so you must make sure you qualify before you go through the procedures. To help the military determine who is accepted into the service, aptitude tests are given to not only test knowledge but also to point a soldier in the direction they may need to go for a particular career choice.

The ASVAB or Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Test is an exam that was developed by the Department of Defense in the 1960’s. This exam is made up of several individual tests on different subjects like Word Knowledge, Math and Reasoning, General Science, Auto Information, Electronics and Coding Speed. There are three versions of the ASVAB, and each one can be used to during recruiting:

High School ASVAB

• Used by Juniors and Seniors in a program between the Department of Defense and the Department of Education
• Is offered at most high schools
• Not used by students for enlistment, although the scores can be used for that purpose
• Primarily used for testing purposes to see where student’s aptitude lie.

Paper ASVAB for recruiting

• Given by the Armed Forces for enlistment purposes
• Questions differ from High School ASVAB, but are equally difficult
• Used less frequently, since most taking the test for enlistment use the computerized version at MEPS, or Military Entrance Processing Station

CAT-ASVAB

• Computerized version of the ASVAB
• After answering each question, the computer automatically chooses the following one
• Scores are often better, since the grading scale varies
• When an answer is correct, the computer chooses a more difficult question that is worth more points. In the event that harder question is wrong, the computer then selects an easier question next.

It is important to remember that the ASVAB is not testing intelligence levels or IQ’s. It is simply helps the military decide where each soldier would work best, and also helps narrow down fields for job training.