Army Instruments of Individual Appraisal

Abstract

In addition to the tests universally used in classifying men in the Army (see “Every Man in the Right Place,” Lieut. George P. Warner, Occupations, Oct., 1941, p. 3), there are other tests used by different organizations within the Army for a variety of purposes. The Army Air Corps, for example, uses a group of aptitude and achievement tests in selecting recruits for its technical schools. A Weather Aptitude Test, a combination of general mental ability and physics achievement test, has been found to have a high correlation with grades of students who attend the Weather Observers School. A special battery of clerical tests is used in selecting students for the special Air Corps Clerical School. Shop mathematics is covered in another test and is used as a part of the general Mechanical battery. Tests of the surface development and mechanical movements types are also included. Parachute riggers, Link Trainer service men, airplane mechanics, weather observers, photographers, radio operators are all selected for training partially upon the basis of test scores.The factor of interest is probably given greater consideration in the selection of men for the Air Corps than in any other branch of the service. Men entering the Air Corps are informed about the different courses and the nature of the work. If they have a high school education and their score on the Army General Classification Test is at the 50th percentile or above, they may choose the technical school they wish to attend. Aptitude and achievement tests are used to verify the wisdom of a man's choice. Only when the odds are hopelessly against success in his chosen school is he encouraged to make a different choice.