Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB): Validation for Civilian Occupations Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) Data
Abstract
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple- aptitude test battery used by all of the military services to determine the qualifications of candidates for enlistment and assign enlistees to military occupations. It is also administered annually to thousands of high school and college students, and represents a potentially important source of information for career guidance. The present effort examines the relationships between ASVAB scores and actual career choices for a nationally representative sample of youth and young adults. Discriminant analyses were performed to assess the extent to which ASVAB scores could be used to differentiate individuals in different occupations or occupational groups. The ASVAB-based discriminant functions resulted in a significantly greater number of individuals being correctly classified than would be expected by chance. In particular, ASVAB scores were most effective in predicting occupational membership for jobs that involved higher, or lower, degrees of complexity of work with data. Additional analyses were performed to assess the extent to which ASVAB scores could differentiate individuals who were satisfied with their occupational choices. No pattern of significant relationships between ASVAB scores and job satisfaction was found. The results support the validity of the ASVAB for predicting membership in civilian occupations. Additional measures would be useful for extending the range of jobs for which membership can be effectively predicted. Keywords: Aptitude tests; Civilian employment; Surveys; Validation; Job satisfaction.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA225244
Entities
People
- John G. Claudy
- Lauri Steel
Organizations
- American Institutes for Research