Coaching on the ASVAB: Analysis of Posttest Questionnaire Responses

Abstract

It is a widely held belief that specific coaching, in addition to practice, can signifi- cantly increase test scores on a number of ability and aptitude tests used in personnel research. The military community's concern about the effects of coaching and practice on the long-term predictive validity of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a product of that belief. Although several experiments tried to measure the quantifiableimpact of controlled coaching and practice on various aptitude tests and self-report temperament measures, no research effort has explored the extent to which coaching actually occurs in the operational military testing environment. We suggest that coaching on the ASVAB is (a) commonly practiced by military recruiters, (b) somewhat standard procedure used to prepare applicants for taking the aptitude tests, and (c) primarily given to lower aptitude applicants in need of coaching. On the basis of these findings, coaching, as defined in this research, does not appear to threaten the long-term validity of the ASVAB.