Tier One Performance Screen Initial Operational Test and Evaluation: 2010 Annual Report

Abstract

Abstract : In addition to educational, physical, and moral screens, the U.S. Army relies on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), a composite score from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), to select new Soldiers into the Army. Although the AFQT is useful for selecting new Soldiers, other personal attributes are important to Soldier performance and retention. Based on previous U.S. Army Research Institute (ARI) investigations, the Army selected one promising measure, the Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System (TAPAS), for an initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E), beginning administration to applicants in 2009. Criterion data are being compiled at 6-month intervals from administrative records, from schools for selected military occupational specialties (MOS), and from Soldiers in units. This is the sixth in a series of planned evaluations of the TAPAS. Similar to prior research, the cumulative results thus far suggest that several TAPAS scales significantly predict a number of criteria of interest, indicating that the measure holds promise for both selection and classification purposes. The Information / Communications Technology Literacy Test (ICTL) has also been incorporated into the IOT&E. The first evaluation results, which are promising, are presented in this report.