{"id":8939,"date":"2018-12-20T14:30:58","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T21:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=8939"},"modified":"2020-05-05T13:07:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T19:07:34","slug":"what-your-asvab-scores-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/what-your-asvab-scores-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"What Your ASVAB Scores Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, <\/span>or the ASVAB, tests your knowledge of basic concepts and skills to date, and determines what branch and rank in the military you are eligible for. Generally, this is knowledge you would have acquired in high school. However, there are sections of the test that you may not have been specifically taught in class, but measure your knowledge of necessary skills for certain positions, such as mechanical comprehension. <\/span><\/p>\n

You are given multiple scores\u2013a standard score for each of the subtests, an AFQT score, and composite scores. So, what do all these scores mean? This article will walk you through each of these scores, what they mean, and how they\u2019re calculated. <\/span><\/p>\n

See also: <\/i><\/b>ASVAB Test Prep: How to Get the Score You Want on the ASVAB<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Standard Scores<\/b><\/h1>\n

Standard scores are given for each of the nine sections of the ASVAB. Here are the sections in order and their commonly referred to abbreviations:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. General Science (GS)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Word Knowledge (WK)<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Paragraph Comprehension (PC)<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Mathematics Knowledge (MK)<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Electronics Information (EI)<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Auto & Shop Information (AS)<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Mechanical Comprehension (MC)<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Assembling Objects (AO)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you remember the words \u201cmean\u201d and \u201cstandard deviation\u201d from your statistics class, you\u2019re one step ahead. For those who don\u2019t, the mean is the average of a set of numbers. The ASVAB subtests use a one to 100 score range, so the mean is set to 50. This is based on a national sample of 18 to 24-year-olds. <\/span><\/p>\n

    A standard deviation is a measurement of distance from the mean. The ASVAB standard deviation is set to 10. Therefore, if you receive a score of 60, you have scored one standard deviation above the mean. If you receive a score of 70, you have scored two standard deviations above the mean, and so on. So, your score isn\u2019t the number of questions you answered correctly, but how many questions you answered correctly in comparison to others who have taken the test. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Your standard scores don\u2019t determine anything specific on their own, but are used to calculate other scores that determine your eligibility, branch, and rank in the military. <\/span><\/p>\n

    AFQT Scores<\/b><\/h1>\n

    Your AFQT score specifically determines if you are eligible for enlistment in the military. Each branch of the military has a different minimum AFQT score requirement, listed below:<\/span><\/p>\n