The Substitutability of Criteria in the Development and Evaluation of ASVAB Classification Procedures.

Abstract : The major goal of this research is to determine the adequacy of using operational skill qualification test (SQT) measures to serve as a criterion surrogate for the more widely accepted, but prohibitively costly, hands-on measures. If it could be shown that similar decisions are made or similar outcomes are obtained in the classification context, the criteria would be considered as substitutable for one another. Project A's longitudinal data set was used to obtain hands-on and job knowledge measures for 9 Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) and only job knowledge measures for an additional 6 MOS, 18 to 24 months alter the cohort sample entered the Army. Operational Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and SQT scores for the same cohorts were available from official records. Findings indicate close similarities in: selecting tests for assignment composites, patterns of predictor test validities; classification efficiency (MPP); and in factor structure in the joint predictor-criterion space. The overall conclusion is that either criteria can serve as a surrogate for the other in developing classification procedures using ASVAB.