St. Louis High School sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be given the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
The ASVAB is given out to students to help them get a better understanding of what future careers they’re qualified for. It can also give them an idea of what skills they might have.
Terre Sura, SLHS’s counselor, shared, “The ASVAB is both a career inventory and an aptitude test. That means that, based on your answers, you will learn which careers are a good fit for you. You will also learn which careers you have an aptitude for (which ones you will be good at). If you are looking for a career in the military, the ASVAB will help you land a career there.”
Contrary to popular belief, the ASVAB test is not strictly for the military. It also helps with planning for civilian career paths. Participants are tested on general science, arithmetic reasoning, paragraph comprehension, mathematics, and word knowledge. If an examinee is aiming to join the military service, his or her test is more critically graded.
Both teacher and avid ASVAB enthusiast Kevin Kuhn stated, “Typically, the feedback will identify an area of strength, which might be mechanical, electrical, or general.”
Kuhn also mentioned, “You might want to do something, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are qualified or able to. For instance, I might really want to be a mechanic but the ASVAB might show me I have zero skill or knowledge in that department.”
The score a student ends up with will determine his or her available options for careers. Higher scores will open up more opportunities while an average or lower score might not have as many choices. It is also possible to receive a perfect score or to ace the test.
Currently, the ASVAB has three different formats, each varying in benefits and expectations. One format is the CAT-ASVAB, which is a computer adaptive test. Another is the Military Entrance Test (MET)-site ASVAB, and the last one is the Student ASVAB. SLHS will be hosting the digital version.
