Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery: Validation for Civilian Occupations

Abstract

Abstract : Form 14 of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is used in the Department of Defense high school testing program. Researchers have criticized the use of the ASVAB for career counseling in high schools because of a lack of validity data from studies of civilian occupations. To help counter the criticism, the American Institutes of Research undertook a project to validate ASVAB Form 14 on 12 common civilian occupations. ASVAB scores were obtained from 1,328 individuals across the nation who had been employed in one of the 12 occupations for at least 3 months. Holding a job, rather than job performance, was used as the criterion. Analyses focused on the extent to which skills measured by ASVAB vary among the 12 civilian occupations. There was a statistically significant variation in ASVAB profiles among occupations. The most salient dimension of variation was defined by high scores on Auto and Shop Information and low scores on the Verbal composite. The 12 occupations grouped into six clusters. About 30% of cases could be accurately placed in their occupations using ASVAB information, compared to a change level of 12%. Because criterion performance data were not available, there is no evidence that skills characteristic of membership in the occupations are the same as skills required for successful careers in the occupations.