How can I best help somebody study for the ASVAB?

September 18, 2007 2:09 AM

How can I best help somebody study for the ASVAB?

I've offered to help a friend study for the ASVAB. The last time she took it, she missed the enlistment cutoff by one point. When I helped her previously, we mainly focused on the math sections, but now I think a wider approach is best. The trouble is, I'm not as good at teaching the other areas. What advice can you give me for teaching the General Science, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, and the various mechanical and shop sections? I'm looking for general strategies as well as referrals to useful resources.

Thank you very much for your help.

posted by concrete to education (7 comments total)

I thought the point of aptitude tests was that you couldn't study for them! Seriously, that all sounds like basic stuff that you either know or you don't, and only a childhood spent doing worthwhile things could change that. However, I guess it's worth a shot.

I suppose there's no wrong reason for a trip to the science museum. The trick is to not explain things to her, but make her explain them to you. When she gets stuck, offer hints, but she has to be the one who puts the pieces together to formulate an explanation. Science is just applied logic, and exercising those logical skills might help.

For word knowledge, try some Latin, since it influences so much of our scientific and legal vocabulary.

For mechanical and shop work, again, hands-on experience is best. I don't know if you can teach logical problem-solving, but you can help nurture what skills are there already. I'd suggest a crate of Lego or an Erector set.
posted by Myself at 5:53 AM on September 18, 2007

You could try working through a Kaplan book with her. They sell those books specifically for the ASVAB. (I'm not recommending Kaplan in particular, I'm just using it as a synonym for test-prep). If she has trouble with some part of it, that would at least give you an idea of what additional material she might need.
posted by bluefly at 6:08 AM on September 18, 2007

Three things helped me ace the ASVAB and the AFAST:

1) Flash cards. Seriously, I can't emphasize this one enough. They're like push-ups for your brain.

2) Any of the common ASVAB study books are great (I prefered the Barron's and dissliked the 'Idiot's Guide', but YMMV). You can check these out of the library if you're broke. Use the 'self-tests' in them.

3) Determination.

Any of us is only as intelligent as we are born, so if your friend isn't so sharp she'll have to make up for it with persistence (sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's true). If the problem is just that your friend has a hard time with standardized tests, or that the kind of scary atmosphere that the military likes to cultivate causes her to fumble in the clinch, then get her to practise breathing exercises or calming visualizations or something. Help her to focus first, then help her ingest the material that she'll regurgitate later.

And remember, the ASVAB is really just a big pile of repeat-back-to-me, and all the military's tests are a whole lot like it. Once she finds her pace with it she'll be set up to ace all the exams she'll be getting in boot and beyond.

Good luck to her.
posted by Pecinpah at 6:18 AM on September 18, 2007

It's been years since I've taken the ASVAB, but as far as I recall most of the questions didn't require any specialized knowledge - just logical aptitude; it was sort of like a super-easy SAT... I think that I ended up with an 99 AFQT.

According to this, the only scores that count for basic enlistment purposes are Mathematics and Verbal. If you covered the former in previous sessions, you may want to focus on the latter now, especially reading comprehension.

I'm kind of grasping at straws here for an explanation of your friend's low score; is she dyslexic or otherwise disabled, or just kind of illiterate? If it's just illiteracy, there are modular programs of increasing verbal complexity which might help... or you can take her to a library and pick up some books at her reading level.
posted by The Confessor at 7:13 AM on September 18, 2007

Aptitude tests do measure more long-term learning and are less sensitive to training than achievement tests (for example). It's usually just not worth the trouble of studying for them, because the effect is so small. However, if your friend was only 1 point away from passing, I'm guessing that a little positive measurement error and some training would put her over the cut score. Some training on content and especially relaxation techniques as Pecinpah suggests if she gets nervous could help.

I would stick to math, vocab, and paragraph comprehension, if The Confessor is right about the enlistment cutoffs. If there is a test-prep book with a vocabulary list, try using flashcards to memorize more vocab. With a little luck, a few of the new words will pop up on the test and may get her enough extra points to pass. Just practicing the item formats will also make her more comfortable with the test and to develop some useful strategies (very important on paragraph comprehension). For math, the book may suggest a few strategies and important algorithms to memorize.

I would emphasize to her that test scores fluctuate every time you take a test. Sometimes you'll get lucky and a lot of the stuff you know is on there, sometimes you're less lucky (let's just assume she was unlucky last time). If you work on getting a little more knowledge of words and math, and focus on staying calm during test taking, then she has a good chance of getting that extra point she needs.

Note: I'm a grad student in educational measurement, so my advice is based on my knowledge of measurement theory, not specific knowledge of the ASVAB or how reliable its scores are.
posted by parkerjackson at 9:47 AM on September 18, 2007

One piece of advice that has helped me a great deal in all sorts of standardized tests (ASVAB, SAT, MCAT, AP exams) is to mark up the tests. Make notes in the margins. Cross out wrong answers as you eliminate them. Actually crossing them out sort of "gets them out of the way" in a way that leaving them there does not, and you wind up with an easier problem staring back at you.

Specifically, for math figures, mark them up. Mark right angles with the standard symbol. Mark two congruent line segments with a short little dash on each one, and to do a second, different congruent pair, use two dashes.

On the mechanical section, which if I remember, has all of those problems where you pull a lever and the result propagates through the machine, you can draw arrows indicating motion all over it. I remember I used to do those with my fingers. So what if it looks silly-- just trace out the motion with your finger all the way through the figure, and you will be fine.

For reading comprehension, read through very quickly, just taking note of the overall layout of the passage, and where things are. Then, when you get a question, go back to the text where the answer is located, and put your finger of your left hand there. Then go back and read the suggested answers with your finger still pointing at the relevant part of the text.

Good luck.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 7:49 PM on September 18, 2007

Note that as of June 1999, when I took my ASVAB for Navy enlistment, the test was completely computerized, so pencil and paper may not even be an option.
posted by The Confessor at 6:02 AM on September 19, 2007