2021 / 2022 ASVAB For Dummies. Angie Papple Johnston

Online, on your own time after receiving an access code from your recruiter Computer The PiCAT is an unproctored, full version of the ASVAB. You take it on your own time, but you must take a verification test at a MEPS to validate your score. The verification test typically takes 25 to 30 minutes to complete. Armed Forces Classification Test (AFCT) Given at installation educational centers to people already in the military through the Defense Manpower Data Center Computer At some point during your military career, you may want to retrain for a different job. If you need higher ASVAB scores to qualify for such retraining, or if you’re a commissioned officer who wants to become a warrant officer, you can take the AFCT. The AFCT is essentially the same as the other versions of the ASVAB.

Mapping Out the ASVAB Subtests

The computerized format of the ASVAB contains ten separately timed subtests, with the Auto & Shop Information subtest split in two. The paper format of the test has nine subtests (the Auto & Shop Information subtests are combined). The two formats differ in the number of questions in each subtest and the amount of time you have for each one. Table 1-2 outlines the ASVAB subtests in the order that you take them in the enlistment (computerized or paper) and student (paper only) versions of the test; you can also see which chapters to turn to when you want to review that content.

      The CAT-ASVAB now often contains tryout questions. These questions haven’t been used on an officially scored ASVAB; test-makers use your responses to them to ensure the questions are good enough to use on future versions of the test. Each tester sees 15 tryout questions in two, three, or four of the subtests. These questions don’t count toward your score, but you still have to answer them. The tryout questions are only on the computerized version of the test; they’re not on the paper version. When you get tryout questions in a subtest, you get extra time to complete it.

TABLE 1-2 The ASVAB Subtests in Order

Subtest	Questions/Time without Tryout Questions (CAT-ASVAB)	Possible Questions/Time with Tryout Questions (CAT-ASVAB)	Questions/Time (Paper Version)	Content	Chapter
General Science (GS)	15 questions, 10 minutes	30 questions, 20 minutes	25 questions, 11 minutes	General principles of biological and physical sciences	Chapters 10, 11, and 12
Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)	15 questions, 55 minutes	30 questions, 113 minutes	30 questions, 36 minutes	Word problems involving high school math concepts that require calculations	Chapter 9
Word Knowledge (WK)	15 questions, 9 minutes	30 questions, 18 minutes	35 questions, 11 minutes	Correct meaning of a word; occasionally antonyms (words with opposite meanings)	Chapter 4
Paragraph Comprehension (PC)	10 questions, 27 minutes	25 questions, 75 minutes	15 questions, 13 minutes	Questions based on passages (usually a couple of hundred words) that you read	Chapter 5
Mathematics Knowledge (MK)	15 questions, 23 minutes	30 questions, 47 minutes	25 questions, 24 minutes	High school math, including algebra and geometry	Chapters 6, 7, and 8
Electronics Information (EI)	15 questions, 10 minutes	30 questions, 21 minutes	20 questions, 9 minutes	Electrical principles, basic electronic circuitry, and electronic terminology	Chapter 16
Auto & Shop Information (AS)	10 Auto Information questions, 7 minutes; 10 Shop Information questions, 6 minutes	25 Auto Information questions, 18 minutes; 25 Shop Information questions, 17 minutes	25 questions, 11 minutes	Knowledge of automobiles, shop terminology, and tool use	Chapters 13 and 14
Mechanical Comprehension (MC)	15 questions, 22 minutes	30 questions, 42 minutes	25 questions, 19 minutes	Basic mechanical and physical principles	Chapter 15
Assembling Objects (AO)*	15 questions, 17 minutes	30 questions, 36 minutes	25 questions, 15 minutes	Spatial orientation	Chapter 17

* The Assembling Objects subtest isn’t part of the student version of the test.

Deciphering ASVAB Scores

The Department of Defense is an official U.S.