Each year our school offers the opportunity to take the ASVAB test.  YC counselor Quinn Takashima explains what ASVAB is. “Pretty much, the ASVAB is the SAT of the military if that makes sense,” Takashima said.

The ASVAB test stands for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. It is a timed multi aptitude test which is given to many schools and is maintained by the Department of Defense. The scores are taken in many areas, but there are four critical areas: arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension and mathematics knowledge. These scores count towards your Armed Forces Qualifying Test score. This test determines if you are qualified to enlist in the U.S. military. 

The rest of the scores on the ASVAB will determine how qualified someone is for certain military occupational specialties and enlistment bonuses. Getting a higher score will improve the chances for the specialty/job that a student wants. Getting  a high score requires study beforehand and concentration. It is highly suggested that you study for it and when taking the test you need to be focused and concentrate. You can also take the test even if you don’t want to join the military. 

In an interview with senior Dylan McInnis, he explains why he took the ASVAB test. “I feel like the results tell me what trade I could go into if that’s what I wanted to do.”

Takashima explains why a student should take the ASVAB test, “A student should take the test because the more options a student has for jobs the better.” Takashima said, “It’s not strictly for the military, you could join any branch such as the Navy, National Guard, and even the Coast Guard.” 

Students should take this test to see what field of work they would do best in. The ASVAB will be held in the library from 8-10 on Monday. Students can still sign up if they want to, it’s not too late.