Development of Armed Forces Qualification Test and Predecessor Army Screening Tests, 1946-1950

Apolipoprotein E genotype and memory in the sixth decade of life

“…Our index of general cognitive ability was the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), which was administered as a screening instrument just prior to military induction when the average age of participants in the present analyses was 19.9 (± 1.37) and again during the VETSA at average age 55.1. The AFQT is a 50-minute paper-and-pencil test consisting of 100 multiple-choice items with equal numbers of items assessing the domains of vocabulary, arithmetic, spatial processing (matching folded or unfolded box patterns), and matching/reasoning about tools and equipment (23). It is highly correlated with other measures of general cognitive ability (24); after correcting for restriction of range, the AFQT was correlated .84 with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and .85 with the Multidimensional Assessment Battery (25,26).…”

Genes, Environment, and Time: The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA)

“…The items equally represent the four domains of vocabulary, arithmetic word problems, knowledge of tools and of mechanical or electrical equipment, and spatial visualization, that is, matching folded and unfolded box patterns (Uhlaner & Bolanovich, 1952). Although it was intended as a measure of military trainability, the AFQT does appear to be a highly g-loaded test.…”

Military Aptitude Testing: The Past Fifty Years

“…These Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) were then called Armed Forces Examining Stations (AFES). The AFQT scores then returned to expected levels (Uhlaner, 1952, November). '…”

“…During World War II, there were no minimum aptitude standards, although at times there were minimum literacy standards (Uhlaner, 1952, November). Even though all male recruits during World War II took the AGCT or NGCT, these tests were not used for making selection decisions.…”

“…The sources for these percentages are Uhlaner (1952, November) for the World War II distribution and Maier and Sims (1986, July) The proportion of males in the above-average range, categories I and II, increased from 36 percent in World War I1, to 39 percent in the late 1960s, and to 42 percent in 1980. The proportion of males in the below-average range, categories IV and V, decreased from 30 percent during World War II, to 27 percent during the Vietnam War, but increased back to 30 percent in 1980.…”