Army ASVAB Aptitude Test Qualifications and Standards

The testing method the military utilizes for determining if someone has the mental aptitude required to be an enlisted member of the United States Military is the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). This ASVAB is the test the recruiters use as a tool to help them better understand the recruit as well as inform the recruit where their strengths and interests may lie. As you can see from a thorough breakdown of the test below, the ASVAB tests the following:

The ASVAB consists of nine sub-tests, which the military uses to form a composite score which shows what military jobs you qualify for. The ASVAB sub-tests for determining the composites are:

• General Science (GS) - The General Science sub-test consists of questions on high school-level science (biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, astronomy, etc.). 
• Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) - The Arithmetic Reasoning sub-test of the ASVAB consists of multiple-choice questions.
• Word Knowledge (WK) - The Word Knowledge sub-test of the ASVAB consists of multiple-choice questions.
• Paragraph Comprehension (PC) - The Paragraph Comprehension subtest of the ASVAB consists of multiple-choice questions.
• Auto and Shop Information (AS) - The AS sections of the ASVAB consist of questions about the principles of automobiles and recognition of common tools.
• Mathematics Knowledge (MK) - The MK section of the ASVAB consists of basic high school math questions.
• Mechanical Comprehension (MC) - The Mechanical Comprehension questions concern mechanical principles and test your ability to answer how systems operate.
• Electronics Information (EI) - The Electronics questions are about basic electronics and test your understanding of how simple electronics operate.
• Assembling Objects (AO) - Assembling objects questions test your ability with spatial relationships between objects that typically work together.
• Verbal Expression (VE) - The Verbal Expression is an important composite sum of the two sub-tests: Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension  (WK + PC = VE)

The use of these military job aptitude tests and scoring of a variety of composites can tell a recruiter what jobs you may be best at doing or what you may be naturally drawn toward if you are unsure of where to focus your future education and job skills. Current Army aptitude area composites used for MOS selection are as follows:

• CL -Clerical-VE+AR+MK
• CO -Combat-AR+CS+AS+MC
• EL -Electronics-GS+AR+MK+EI
• FA -Field Artillery-AR+CS+MK+MC
• GM- General Maintenance-GS+AS+MK+EI
• GT- General Technical-VE+AR
• MM- Mechanical Maintenance-NO+AS+MC+EI
• OF- Operators and Food-VE+NO+AS+MC
• SC - Surveillance and Communications-VE+AR+AS+MC
• ST- Skilled Technical-GS+VE+MK+MC

The AFQT score is derived from only four of the ASVAB sub-tests:  Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Word Knowledge (WK), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), and Arithmetic Reasoning (AR). The chart below shows the scores for every enlisted MOS in the Army.