depressing news of the day: 23% of military applicants fail entry exam |
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AchillesHeel
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According to the Associated Press, a report by The Education Trust found 23% of applicants to the U.S. military cannot pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. They note that these 23% are "on top of Pentagon data that shows 75 percent of those aged 17 to 24 don't qualify for the military because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school." I've never taken this exam myself, but it's described as "basic math, science and reading questions."
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Post #1 12/21/10 3:24:14PM
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BlueSkiesBurn
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Posted by AchillesHeel
According to the Associated Press, a report by The Education Trust found 23% of applicants to the U.S. military cannot pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. They note that these 23% are "on top of Pentagon data that shows 75 percent of those aged 17 to 24 don't qualify for the military because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school." I've never taken this exam myself, but it's described as "basic math, science and reading questions."
Sadly, this isn't that surprising to me. Remove the military component from this, I am simply talking about individuals being unable to grasp these concepts on the whole.
It's a testament to our public schooling system and their poor standards. Many people that join the military often come from broken backgrounds and impoverished neighborhoods as well, couple their schooling systems in with the fact that they're joining the military to improve the quality of their lives and to make a difference and I'm a bit surprised this statistic isn't a bit higher.
When I was a server/bartender at Red Lobster, we used to give out a test to all potential applicants. This test included basic math skills, verbal skills, and conversions. Not nearly as in-depth as the ASVAB, and the number of people that failed it was through the roof.
They couldn't compute simple enough math to give correct change and such.
Having graded many a college paper for 100 level classes, I've also seen how illiterate our children are coming out of High School. I just shake my head and move on, that's all I can do.
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Post #2 12/21/10 4:32:19PM
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Jackelope
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There are some tough questions on the ASVAB but those are rare. Most of the questions are pretty basic ranging from 9th grade to 12th grade level stuff. Whether that is science, math, mechanical knowledge, reading, etc.
I'm pretty sure recruiters would tell you the average candidate tests in at about a 55-75 on their ASVAB. I think anything below 45 or so and you can't get in. Unless they've changed the standards.
As far as the physically fit stuff goes that's not surprising at all. Most kids today are ******* weaksauce fatties. Hell, ~70% of people in the military are still weaksauce in my opinion. I hated getting some cherry in my squad when we were mid deployment doing 4+ hour dismounted patrols with 90 lbs of gear on. In all honesty, even though I was Army I'd have to say the Marines are the only branch that do a pretty decent job at keeping their troops fit from what I experienced. But they're still probably at about 50% weaksauce.
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Post #3 12/21/10 4:32:56PM
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jae_1833
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Army minimum ASVAB last I checked (2001) was a 23 while the Navy / Marines was a 32. To score that low would be ridiculous...as a high school grad who spent 5 years after highs school getting stoned and drunk I scored a 115 GT, and a 85 overall.
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Post #4 12/22/10 1:15:33
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vomitshovel
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The less people entering the military, regardless of mental capabilities, is good. It's sad to see, but makes me think of how they are only letting smart people die for a profit.
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Post #5 12/22/10 1:39:58
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Rush
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What happens if you score really high? do they put you in a cohort that involves officer training or involved in some sort of level of military like engineering, etc.?
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Post #6 12/23/10 11:13:18PM
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DARRYL_Ledonne
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Not Good!!!
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Post #7 12/24/10 1:38:49PM
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BigCountryFedor
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There shouldn't be such a high demand in the military industrial complex anyway.
Last edited 1/8/11 8:07PM by bigcountryfedor
Edit note/reason: n/a
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Post #8 1/8/11 3:26:22PM
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