Factor Structure of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), Forms 8, 9, and 10: 1981 Army Applicant Sample

Abstract : The purpose of this paper is to examine the factor structure of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), Forms 8,9,and 10. This standardized multiple cognitive abilities battery is the primary selection and classification instrument used by all military services. It consists of eight power and two speed tests. This investigation compared the ASVAB 8/9/10 factor structure to the factor structure observed for previous samples and previous forms of the ASVAB; it examined the similarity of ASVAB factor structure for racial/ethnic and sex subgroups. A factor analysis of a sample of 98,689 male and female Army applicants yielded four orthogoanl factor accounting for 93% of the total variance: Verbal Ability, Speeded, Performance, Quantitative Ability, and Technical Knowledge. Factor analyses of male, female, white, black, and Hispanic subgroups yielded similar results.