ASVAB: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.objector.org/before-you-enlist/asvab.html

ASVAB: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), an "aptitude" test designed and administered by the US military, is taken by 1.25 million students in over 14,000 schools each year. The test scores derived from the ASVAB are useful to military recruiters for two reasons: (1) the US Armed Forces extracts the information needed to recruit students who take the test, and (2) once a recruit who has taken the ASVAB in high school is in the recruiting office, she or he need not be tested further for placement purposes. The testing has already been done by the ASVAB! Despite the military's claims, the ASVAB is not designed to help students make informed career decisions. Instead, it is a covert recruiting tool designed to lead promising young people directly into dead-end military careers.

The ASVAB is Deceptive

According to Joe Flanagan, Army Education Service Officer, "The ASVAB is the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' that encourages students to join the military." The ASVAB claims to be a "free" career interest test that the military markets to schools in place of more expensive interest tests. No correlation has been established between ASVAB scores and civilian career skills. After carefully examining the ASVAB, a US Congressperson said, "The ASVAB testing program has no proven value to anyone except the Armed Forces. I believe each community should make a conscious, careful decision whether it is willing to accept covert military recruiting activity carried out with the official sanction of the school as the price it must pay for this `free' testing service."1 Flanagan confirms military deception: "Once they've filled out the chart, and know what they're interested in, we're ready to recruit them."

Know The Options

When a student takes the ASVAB, she or he must first sign a document, which states that the student's test scores may not be processed unless they sign this form. This releases her or his personal information (i.e., name, home address, telephone number, social security number, test score, etc.) for use as part of a computer listing for recruitment purposes. Recruiters often use this personal information to mount a high-pressure sales pitch, calling incessantly even after students and their families indicate that they are not interested. Although most students taking the ASVAB are minors, and by law their signature is not considered legal, the military considers this document legally binding.

If a school or individual decides to use the ASVAB, they should utilize Option 8. This option prevents the students' names from being added to the military's recruiting list. Be aware however, the military regularly makes absolutely no mention of this very important option, and often it is purposely left out. Another option that the military intentionally fails to mention, is that the ASVAB is supposed to be a voluntary test that students can refuse to take!

Give the Military the Sophomore Jinx

One method of dulling the blade of covert military recruiting is to insist that if the ASVAB must be given to students, that it be given in their sophomore year. Test results are used by the military for recruiting purposes for only two years. According to Mike Farah, "If sophomores take (ASVAB), we don't take the names."

Resistance Works

At Jefferson High School in Portland, OR, a group of approximately 25 students protested the ASVAB by demanding to be advised of ASVAB's Option 8 at the outset of the test. After their request was denied, they were weeded out by military proctors, and a much smaller group of students were given the test.

At James Monroe High School, Bronx, NY an assistant principal "guaranteed" the military that at least 2,000 of the school's 2,200 students would take the test. After being confronted by more than half of the school's faculty members on the morning of the test, the assistant principal backed away from her "guarantee," and the students were informed that they could choose to take the test or engage in an alternative activity. Only about 100 students were administered the test, and the recruiters left disappointed.

Balance the Picture

Military recruiters who administer the ASVAB have a quota to meet, much like salespeople. As educators, counselors, and activists, our responsibility is to provide a balanced view of career alternatives for youth. Too often, military recruiters are allowed to present a one-sided picture of military life, thereby depriving students of the balanced view they need to make informed decisions.

Contact CCCO for more materials and information on how you can mount resistance to "back-door" military recruiting practices, insure that schools are presenting a fair and balanced picture of military life, and receive information on non-military alternatives to the ASVAB.

http://www.objector.org/before-you-enlist/asvab.html



uhc comment: We have schools up here that tell kids to take the test, it won't hurt you.

[NYVet]

1. It won't hurt you any more than taking the SAT does.

I have yet to see a recruiter pull a gun on a student and force them to sign a contract to join the military.

[unhappycamper]

2. Generally speaking, you don't get dead or PTSD from a SAT test. n/t

[NYVet]

3. You can get dead on a college campus

when someone ignores the "Gun free zone" signs and walks into your classroom shooting.


Every job has risks and if you do not do research into the profession, you are a fool.

[rakeeb]

4. generally speaking...

taking the ASVAB or even doing well on it does not obligate anyone to serve a day in uniform.

[rakeeb]

5. there's so much that is

sketchy about this "article" I don't know where to begin.
The ASVAB has been required by Congress in one form or another since 1948, and since at least the 1970's has been an accurate indicator of who will successfully complete training in the varied technical career fields. Which is why there are minimum axis scores in Science Technical, Electrical, Mechanical, etc. for different jobs.

There is no officer in the Army named Flanagan with a first or middle name of Joe or Joseph.

There is no Army Education Service, there is an Army Educational Services Division at most posts that aid in providing college education on post as well as off post and assistance with college and grad program applications for those getting out to go to school, they have nothing to do with Recruiting Command.

There is no one in the Army named Farah with a first or middle name of Mike or Michael (however the article doesn't even indicate what he is).

Could not find anything about the ASVAB in the Fellowship Magazine that is referenced at the end of the article.

And the most obvious: the ASVAB as a recruiting tool is a farce, recruiters have the same access to information about students as any public college, the don't need to spend three hours administering a test just to get a list of names and addresses, they only have to make one phone call to the school's office. However, parents or 18 year old students can "opt out" essentially barring the school from releasing any information about that student to any recruiter (military or college) without direct consent. Pretty easy.