WHY SCHOOLS DO NOT RELEASE ASVAB SCORES TO MILITARY RECRUITERS?
Certification: Test Prep ASVAB - Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
WHY SCHOOLS DO NOT RELEASE ASVAB SCORES TO MILITARY RECRUITERS?
The Air Force Human Resources Laboratory developed the ASVAB in the year 1968. It was introduced to high school candidates, studying in 10th, 11th and 12thstandard, to determine their potential and assess their ability for serving as a militant.
The test includes:
1. General Science
2.Arithmetic Reasoning
3.Word Knowledge
4.Paragraph Comprehension
5. Auto and Shop Information
6. Mathematics Knowledge
7.Mechanical Comprehension
8. Electronics Information
United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) companies seek to recruit eligible candidates. Any senior in the high school, scoring 50 or higher in their ASVAB test is eligible for the army’s recruitment program and hence in the list of senior alpha (SA) as well. Many companies in USAREC are irregular and fail to achieve their SA mission. The only year that USAREC achieved its SA enlistment objective was in 2002.
|
Regular Army Mission |
|||
|
Year |
Mission |
Achieved |
Gross % |
|
2002 |
73011 |
106639 |
146.06% |
|
2003 |
73800 |
74132 |
100.45% |
|
2004 |
77000 |
77587 |
100.76% |
|
2005 |
80000 |
73373 |
91.72% |
|
2006 |
80000 |
80635 |
100.79% |
|
2007 |
80000 |
80410 |
100.51% |
|
2008 |
80000 |
80517 |
100.65% |
|
2009 |
65000 |
70045 |
107.76% |
|
2010 |
74500 |
74577 |
100.10% |
|
2011 |
64000 |
64019 |
100.03% |
The data in the table has been collected from http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/apa/ goals.htm
When schools do not conduct ASVAB
The recruitment process would not stop even when schools may choose not to take the ASVAB test.
The recruiter may independently conduct the test at his/her discretion for the enlistment.
What if the tests were taken but scores were undisclosed?
It becomes harder for the recruiter as some schools may choose not to expose the scores to the recruiters and some may be refrained by their polies.
In situation like these, the recruiter needs to approach Military Entrance Processing Command
(MEPCOM) and sign a “record request”, requesting to release the score.
Non-disclosure prevents the eligible candidates to apply for the military services, as the students have no idea regarding their opportunity.
Schools and students taking part in ASVAB
FACTS: In 1994 there were 900,000 students, 14,000 schools out of 21,500 who appeared for the ASVAB test. That accounts for 65.1% of the total high schools in the United States.
|
Total Students Tested |
|||
|
Year |
Number of High Schools in US |
Total Number of High Schools Administering ASVAB |
% of High Schools that Administer ASVAB |
|
2000 |
21,934 |
13,032 |
59.4% |
|
2001 |
21,989 |
12,790 |
58.2% |
|
2002 |
22,157 |
12,692 |
57.3% |
|
2003 |
22,249 |
12,612 |
56.7% |
|
2004 |
22,174 |
12,598 |
56.8% |
|
2005 |
21,777 |
12,381 |
56.9% |
|
2006 |
21,693 |
12,151 |
56.0% |
|
2007 |
21,688 |
12,080 |
55.7% |
|
2008 |
22,148 |
12,168 |
54.9% |
|
2009 |
22,075 |
12,144 |
55.0% |
|
2010 |
22,642 |
12,251 |
54.1% |
|
2011 |
22,604 |
12,462 |
55.1% |
Prepared in accordance with the data from
ASVAB Career Exploration Program
With reference to the above table, there has been seen a significant decline in the percentage of participant schools. As per the ASVAB researchers, only 13.3% of the participants apply for a career in military out of which 2.5% are recruited through ASVAB score.
Recruitment Process
In order to know the answer to why “schools withheld scores and do not release to ASVAB” we need to go in-depth. Every year thousand of schools and students are approached and are convinced to take the ASVAB exam. ASVAB claims to give the best career options and persuades the schools to encourage their students to give ASVAB test. ASVAB has been accumulating personal data of the applicants since 1968.
Student’s privacy was compromised with the passing of the act in 1974 of the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)” and in 2001 “No Child Left Behind Act”. The law made personal information of every student available to the military recruiters and ruled out the opinion of the student’s parents.
The ASVAB has taken a step further in term of gathering information, which confers, to the name, address, phone number, gender, birth date, race, social security number, and religion of the applicants.
Just after the students receive their scores, a person from the military department counsels the students, suggesting them suitable careers.
While counseling the students the process of recruitment goes on side by side. Unsuspected applicants are selected by screening individual’s personal data and complex sources. The recruiters call up the selected candidates and offer them the opportunity to join the military service.
An experience shared by a student in Kentucky while he was being counseled by an Army representative after he gave his ASVAB
“The recruiter said, 'Dude you did real good on the stuff about the batteries and electrical current. If you don't have anything really good lined up when you graduate, I got a job for you because of your skills. I also got bonuses and you could buy that Camaro Coupe you were talking about. Dude, the ladies love the uniforms.”
Why withheld scores from Recruiters?
The schools were convinced by the ASVAB to compromise the valuable data of their students. In general, every parent has the right to make decisions for their children. However, the recruitment process did not require parent’s consent, objections were raised, which forced many schools to hide or choose not to disclose the student’s scores. Students taking the test were being deceived or kept under the impression that their information has been kept private.
From the table below, we can see a massive fall in the total percentage of the students appearing for the ASVAB.
|
Total Students Tested |
|||
|
Total Population |
Total Students |
Total Percentage |
|
|
1990 |
9,336,314 |
1,006,957 |
10.8% |
|
1991 |
8,993,197 |
931,183 |
10.4% |
|
1992 |
8,875,136 |
882,426 |
9.9% |
|
1993 |
8,986,417 |
870,429 |
9.7% |
|
1994 |
9,087,714 |
872,303 |
9.6% |
|
1995 |
9,201,111 |
876,857 |
9.5% |
|
1996 |
9,276,215 |
879,530 |
9.5% |
|
1997 |
9,467,235 |
898,878 |
9.5% |
|
1998 |
9,642,834 |
894,875 |
9.3% |
|
1999 |
9,747,143 |
857,631 |
8.8% |
|
2000 |
9,754,133 |
826,957 |
8.5% |
|
2001 |
9,770,854 |
792,406 |
8.1% |
|
2002 |
9,918,698 |
779,597 |
7.9% |
|
2003 |
9,997,543 |
756,653 |
7.6% |
|
2004 |
10,122,605 |
722,449 |
7.1% |
|
2005 |
10,169,958 |
687,999 |
6.8% |
|
2006 |
10,215,883 |
646,264 |
6.3% |
|
2007 |
10,259,786 |
631,222 |
6.2% |
|
2008 |
10,395,855 |
641,194 |
6.2% |
|
2009 |
10,564,542 |
643,142 |
6.1% |
|
2010 |
10,818,983 |
659,929 |
6.1% |
|
2011 |
11,722,193 |
670,561 |
5.7% |
Prepared in accordance with the data from
ASVAB Career Exploration Program
However, the schools can choose whether or not to release the ASVAB scores at their discretion. They need to select an option from the list provided by the ASVAB CEP (Career Exploration Program) given below:
|
Option to Release |
Declaring Results |
|
Option 1 |
7 days after test scores are mailed. |
|
Option 2 |
60 days after test scores are mailed. No contact prior to that time |
|
Option 3 |
90 days after test scores are mailed. No contact prior to that time |
|
Option 4 |
120 days after test scores are mailed. No contact prior to that time |
|
Option 5 |
End of school year. No contact prior to that time |
|
Option 6 |
7 days after test scores are mailed. No telephone solicitations by recruiters |
|
Option 7 |
Not valid for enlistment purposes. Results not released to Recruiting Services |
|
Option 8 |
Not released to Recruiting Services |
Most of the schools opt for option 8 as it protects the students from the military recruiters.
Surprisingly, some policies were formed in California, Oakland and Toledo where administering the ASVAB tests were prohibited in school districts. Protecting student’s privacy is their utmost priority.
There may be times when students may be benefited by the recruitment process, especially when he/she is in financial crisis.
