ASVAB score question.

Question

Ok so can somebody explain to me how the asvab standard scores work? If i were to get a 62 in General Science, would that equate to scoring 62% higher than the other test takers?

Also, I know that the ASVAB isn’t scored like this, but if I got 103/145 questions right, which equates to about 71% total, what would be my rough AFQT percentile rank. Are traditional test scores generally lower than percentile scores ( for example, if somebody got a 70% on the ASVAB, would that still put them in the 85% range?)

Also, is 85% AFQT even that impressive, considering that A LOT of people don’t take this test seriously and score really low as a result?

Any help is appreciated

Answer 1

The military determines your AFQT score by first adding your Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension scores together to get your “Verbal Expression” or “VE” score. The formula to derive the AFQT “raw score” is 2VE + AR (Arithmetic Reasoning) + MK (Mathematics Knowledge) = AFQT score.

The AFQT raw score you receive is then translated into a percentile score that tells you how well you did on the AFQT compared to a base group of approximately 6,000 other test takers ages 18–23. For instance, if your percentile score is 63, you scored as well as or better than 63 percent of the base group. This AFQT percentile score is used to determine your eligibility for the armed forces.

Your score and its competitiveness is really dependent on what you want to do for a job in the military. I would say an 85 is very good and will get you considered for most jobs. I was in the nuclear Navy and scored a 99. I know this was a common score for most nukes that made it through the pipeline.