The Air Force Should Continue to Use the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test for Officer Selection

Abstract

The Air Force has long recognized the importance of selecting the most qualified officers possible. In that spirit, the Air Force has relied on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) as one measure of those qualifications for more than 60 years. Nevertheless, a variety of concerns have been raised about whether the test is fair, whether it is biased against minorities or women, whether it is too expensive, and whether it actually predicts anything important to the Air Force. Some have even suggested replacing the AFOQT with another test, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), in the hope that this step would lead to a more diverse Air Force population and would save administrative costs. There is a body of scholarly and technical literature concerning the use of aptitude tests for academic and professional selections, but this work is rarely directed toward military policymakers. The Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) to review existing knowledge about the AFOQT and other selection tests and to examine the implications for the future of the AFOQT.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA539752

Entities

People

  • Robert A. Guffey

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Corporations
  • Education
  • Health Care
  • Homeland Security
  • Infrastructure
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Minority Groups
  • National Security
  • Psychological Tests
  • Public Safety
  • Reserve Officer Training Corps
  • Security
  • Students
  • Training

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.