Military considers allowing calculators on entrance exam amid continued recruiting struggles

Now they think calculators can solve the recruitment crisis rather than facing the facts.

The Pentagon is considering a policy that would allow military applicants to use calculators on entrance exams as it continues to seek a way to combat the ongoing recruiting crisis.

The new policy would change how applicants take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB. Many young Americans have struggled to score high enough on the test to qualify for military service, according to a report from Military.com and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

The test, which both qualifies applicants for enlistment and determines what jobs an applicant is eligible for, has become a barrier for some potential recruits who would have otherwise joined the military, deepening what has already become one of the worst recruiting crises the Pentagon has faced.

“The department is carefully considering the use of calculators for the ASVAB,” a defense official told Fox News Digital Monday. “We are taking a systematic approach, which will assess the impact of calculator use, and we are developing a way forward for calculator inclusion based on best practices in test development and psychometric theory.”

The Army, Navy, and Air Force are all expected to miss their recruiting goals for the second consecutive year, according to the report, while the Marine Corps and Space Force are expected to hit their needed number.

Some of the recruiting woes can be traced back to the ASVAB test, the report said, with many applicants being turned away as a result of their scores on the test. . . . (read more on Fox News and the 6K comments on the article)

Pentagon Set to Allow Calculator Use on Military Entrance Exam as Recruiting Slumps (Military.com, 18 AUG 23)

Report: Pentagon To Make Entrance Exams Easier Amid Military Recruiting Crisis (The Federalist, 21 AUG 23)

. . . .The department’s reported change in testing policy is hardly the only instance in which the military has lowered its entrance standards to accommodate a larger swath of previously unqualified candidates for service. In June 2022, the Army gutted a branch policy requiring potential recruits to have “a high school diploma or GED certificate to enlist in the service.”

A few months later, the Navy separately announced it would be lowering its admittance standards to allow those “who have lower scores on part of the entrance exam used to gauge a recruit’s ability to serve” into service.. . .

. . . . Since Biden took office, the Pentagon has routinely mandated that its leadership advance DEI throughout its ranks. This promotion of so-called “diversity” and “inclusion” has often included preferential treatment for self-identifying LGBT soldiers.

In May, for example, the Air Force authorized its military bases to host events commemorating “pride month.” Nearly a month later, the branch authorized the use of U.S. taxpayer funds to fly service members to its “pride” events in Washington, D.C.

Biden has also tapped numerous military leaders who have embraced DEI for high-ranking positions within the service. . . . (read more)