Investigations into Army Enlisted Classification Systems: Concurrent Validation Report

Abstract : The Army faces a number of personnel needs as it transforms to meet the challenges of today and the near future. To meet these challenges, the Army is seeking recommendations on predictor measures, in particular measures of non-cognitive attributes (e.g., interests, values, and temperament), that could be administered to enhance Soldier selection and classification decisions. The U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) conducted a Concurrent Validation (CV) research effort to advance this objective. The objectives of this research were twofold: (1) to examine the value of using new, experimental predictor measures to select recruits into the Army; and (2) to investigate the potential of new, experimental predictor measures to enhance the classification of recruits into entry-level jobs. Criterion measures and experimental predictors were administered to 424 first-term Active Army Soldiers representing five military occupational specialties (MOS): (a) 11B Infantryman, (b) 19K Armor Crewman, (c) 25U Signal Support Systems Specialist, (d) 63B Light Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, and (e) 68W Health Care Specialist. The value of the experimental predictor measures to enhance recruit selection and classification were examined. Overall, the results indicate that the experimental predictors show potential to increment the existing Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for the purposes of selecting recruits into the Army and classifying them into entry-level jobs.

[1]  Paul Horst,et al.  A technique for the development of a multiple absolute prediction battery. , 1955 .

[2]  D. Lawley.  IV.—A Note on Karl Pearson's Selection Formulæ , 1944, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[3]  Jeffrey J. Mchenry,et al.  PROJECT A VALIDITY RESULTS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREDICTOR AND CRITERION DOMAINS , 1990 .

[4]  Deirdre J. Knapp,et al.  Concurrent Validation of Experimental Army Enlisted Personnel Selection and Classification Measures , 2007 .

[5]  Paul Horst,et al.  A technique for the development of a differential prediction battery. , 1954 .

[6]  Yefim Vladimirsky,et al.  Specifications for an Operational Two-Tiered Classification System for the Army Volume 1: Report , 2000 .

[7]  C. Spearman.  The proof and measurement of association between two things. , 2015, International journal of epidemiology.

[8]  John P. Campbell,et al.  Exploring the Limits in Personnel Selection and Classification , 2001 .

[9]  R. Dawis,et al.  A psychological theory of work adjustment : an individual-differences model and its applications , 1984 .

[10]  Joseph Zeidner,et al.  Selecting predictors for maximizing the classification efficiency of a battery , 1994 .

[11]  John P. Campbell,et al.  Development of Predictor and Criterion Measures for the NCO21 Research Program , 2002 .

[12]  Teresa L. Russell,et al.  Future Soldiers: Analysis of Entry-Level Performance Requirements and Their Predictors , 2005 .

[13]  Norman G. Peterson,et al.  An occupational information system for the 21st century: The development of O*NET. , 1999 .

[14]  John P. Campbell,et al.  Building a Joint-Service Classification Research Roadmap: Individual Differences Measurement , 1994 .

[15]  William J Strickland.  A Longitudinal Examination of First Term Attrition and Reenlistment among FY1999 Enlisted Accessions , 2005 .

[16]  J. L. Holland,et al.  Making vocational choices : a theory of vocational personalities and work environments , 1984 .

[17]  W. D. Corte.  Estimating the classification efficiency of a test battery , 2000 .

[18]  W W Rozeboom,et al.  Estimation of cross-validated multiple correlation: a clarification. , 1978, Psychological bulletin.

[19]  Deirdre J Knapp,et al.  Army Enlisted Personnel Competency Assessment Program Phase 1. Volume 1: Needs Analysis , 2004 .

[20]  Donald E. Super,et al.  The Work Values Inventory. , 1973 .

[21]  Deirdre J Knapp,et al.  Army Enlisted Personnel Competency Assessment Program: Phase 2 Report , 2006 .

[22]  Christopher E. Sager,et al.  Development of Experimental Army Enlisted Personnel Selection and Classification Tests and Job Performance Criteria , 2005 .

[23]  Deirdre J Knapp,et al.  Validation of Measures Designed to Maximize 21st-Century Army NCO Performance , 2004 .

[24]  Yefim Vladimirsky,et al.  Determining Composite Validity Coefficients for Army Jobs and Job Families , 2002 .