Investigating Army Officer Classification: Validation and Utility of Pre-Commissioning Metrics to Enhance Junior Officer Performance
Abstract
The U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC) uses a multi-step process to assign newly commissioned officers to specific branches. This branching process incorporates numerous metrics and dynamics (e.g., USACC Cadet Outcome Metric Score, OMS), cadet branch preference, gender and ethnic branch distributions, and operational requirements). The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) conducted research to simulate the USACC branching process and model the use of pre-commissioning and non-cognitive metrics to improve junior officer performance and career continuance. To create the simulation, ARI validated pre-commissioning and non-cognitive metrics against officer performance and continuance indices that were collected two to eight years later. Predictor data included: pre-commissioning metrics such as USACC Cadet OMS and its component scores; as well as non-cognitive metrics derived from the Cadet Background and Experience Form (CBEF) scales, the Leader Knowledge Test (LKT), and the Work Values Inventory (WVI). Criteria included supervisor ratings of officer in-unit performance as well as archival data. The validity analyses based on approximately 2000 officers quantified the potential of cadet pre-commissioning and non-cognitive metrics to predict long-term officer performance, and the simulation analyses demonstrated that this information can be used to improve junior officer performance by better matching cadet characteristics with officer branch requirements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1156349
Entities
People
- Laura A. Ford
- Marck C Young
- Peter J. Legree
- Robert N. Kilcullen
- Teresa L. Russell
Organizations
- Human Resources Research Organization