On Saturday, December 8th, North students will have the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test, or the ASVAB, from 7:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. Sponsored by the United States military, the ASVAB is an aptitude test calculating not only one’s score in relation to military entrance, but also determining whatever other career one may be suited for.
Students will be tested in nine categories: General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Mathematics Knowledge, Electronics Information, Auto and Shop Information, Mechanical Comprehension, and Assembling Objects. Due to the breadth of the tested areas, students whose talents lie outside of school-focused areas, into more vocational-based areas, will have an equal opportunity to determine what career path they should enter.
Students who take the test will receive a percentile grade corresponding to each of the categories, determining how they compare to people, in their grade and overall, who took the test across the nation. A student who receives a 73% in Electronics Information, for example, will have done better than or as good as 73% of their fellow test takers. In addition, they will also receive a AFQT, based on the General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Paragraph Comprehension, and Mathematics Knowledge categories. This is the applicant’s military entrance score, usable for up to two years after the test is taken and a general predictor of how well they would fare.
When all scores are calculated and returned, a career planning test will be administered, the results of which are based on a series of questions about what one’s interested in given at this time. Said test will give suggestions on what career one should enter, and how well one should have scored in the corresponding categories to do well in said careers.
When results from both tests are compounded, the ASVAB test will give unsure students a great idea of what career they should enter, even if it does not necessarily involve the military.
For further information, stop into the Guidance Office.