Construction and Evaluation of Two Abbreviated Enlistment Screening Tests

Abstract : Since 1953, applicants for enlistment in the Army have been required to pass the Enlistment Screening Test (EST) before being sent to an Armed Forces Examining Station to take the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The current forms 3 and 4 of the EST, consisting of 48 items and requiring 45 minutes to administer, have been operational since 1956. These forms yield a full range of percentile scores. However, the requirement is merely to predict pass-fail, that is, to provide 'go-no go' information. The feasibility of drastically shortening the EST has been suggested by research from two quarters. Cronbach and Warrington (3) showed that short multiple-choice tests built of items of uniform difficulty for use with a particular qualifying score can be as valid as longer tests covering a full range of item difficulty. U.S. APRO experience with the Army Qualification Battery (1,4) showed that where concern focused on a narrow range of ability (here, primarily AFQT Category IV), tests could be shortened by omitting items substantially above and below the difficulty level of concern without appreciably impairing effectiveness.