Selection of Officers for U.S. Naval Aviation Training
Abstract
This paper reviews the process of selecting officers for U.S. naval aviation training and describes one of the principal selection tools, the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB). The 1992 version of the ASTB is a paper-and-pencil test administered to all applicants for naval aviation training. ASTB scores and ground school and flight training performance data were available for 2852 student naval aviators and student naval flight officers, and these data were used to re-assess the validity of the ASTB in predicting student performance. The results indicated that the ASTB remains a valid predictor of ground school and flight training grades, and to a lesser extent, attrition from training. For a small subset of the sample used in these analyses, data from a computer-based performance test (CBPT) were also available. The CBPT required subjects to engage in multi-axis tracking tasks concurrently with other cognitive tasks, such as dichotic listening and working memory tasks. Scores from the ASTB, the CBPT, and grades from ground school were entered into a linear regression upon primary flight training grades. The results showed that the combination of ground school and CBPT scores can be used as a good predictor of performance (R2 = .33, p <.0001). Although these results will require cross validation, the CBPT shows promise as a new selection tool. The importance of these results is discussed in the context of a recently developed computer-based version of the ASTB.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADP010362
Entities
People
- Amanda O. Albert
- David J. Blower
- Henry P. Williams
Organizations
- Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory