Military Enlistment Standards Dr. Jane M. Arabian, Assistant Director Accession Policy Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) Prepared for The Alliance for Excellent Education November 17, 2003

2 Military Force – FY2002

3 Active Component Reserve Component Army79,585104,636 Navy46,15515,355 Marine Corps32,76710,090 Air Force37,96717,048 Total DoD196,474147,129 Enlisted Recruiting Mission - FY 2002

4 1 Accessed 140 Contacts 22 Appointments 14 Discussions 3.4 Tested 1.7 Qualified 1.2 Contracted Recruiters… Top Performers Top Performers Involved in their Community Involved in their Community Work 60+ Hours Weekly Work 60+ Hours Weekly Up From 100 in 1990 To Recruit One High-Quality (HSDG, I-IIIA) Youth. Source - U.S. Army Recruiting Command The Recruiting Challenge

5 Enlistment Standards Selection, first, to determine service eligibility: »Education »Aptitude »Medical »Moral Character »Age »Dependents Classification, second: »Person-Job Match »Depending on Service, Specific or Open Contract

How Many Complete Their First Enlistment: High School Diploma80%High School Diploma80% Other Credential (e.g., GED)60%Other Credential (e.g., GED)60% Non-Graduates50%Non-Graduates50% Education is Important Education Credential is the best single predictor of first-term attrition

AFQT Percentile: I (93-99); II (65-92); IIIA (50-64); IIIB (31-49); IV (10-30) Job Experience (Months) I & II IIIA IIIB IV Mean Hands-On Performance Scores AFQT Category Aptitude Predicts Performance

8 ASVAB Composition

Benchmarks High School Diploma Graduates Percent of Recruits Fiscal Year Category I-IIIA ASVAB Misnorming, Data from Services for ; Previous data is DMDC. DoD Recruit Quality Active Duty Enlisted DoD Recruit Quality Active Duty Enlisted

10 Challenges and Opportunities: Changing Demographics Source: U.S. Census Bureau. By 2025, year-old population will be nearly 24% Hispanic Challenges: 2002 High School completion rates for year olds: –62% for Hispanics –88% for Blacks –93% for whites Language barriers, particularly when talking with parents

11 Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2000 ACT News Release, National College Dropout and Graduation Rates, 1999 Challenges and Opportunities: The College Market Enrollment Rate Graduation Rate (2 yr) Graduation Rate (4 yr) Percent of HS Seniors who enroll in college after graduation

12 OSD Challenges Adhere to codified recruit quality standards Implement new ASVAB norms Nationally representative sample of youth population Ensure recruiter access to high schools and colleges Maintain research and studies support