Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1991

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Instructional Technology and Educational Studies

Major Professor

Eunice Reynolds

Committee Members

Billy J. Ledford, Robert Hanson

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the accuracy of the screening and placement process used to place students in the Aviation Electrician's Mate AEA(A1) school. Because of the wide-spread attention directed toward the defense budget, there is a need to curtail any unnecessary spending such as that associated with training students who are unable to complete schools because of academic inabilities. This study examined the academic attrition rates of the Aviation Electrician's Mate Class A AE(A1) school students as they relate to four areas of the Armed Service Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB): (1) Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), (2) Math Knowledge (MK), (3) General Science (GS), and (4) Composite ASVAB score.

Prior to entering the Aviation Electrician's Mate AEA(A1) school, all students are subjected to a placement and screening process. The ASVAB test is the instrument used to determine which, if any, school each individual is best qualified to attend.

The research questions answered by this study were whether or not there is a relationship between both the individual portions and the composite scores of the ASVAB and the final course average of graduates and attrites at the AE(A1) school and whether or not there is a relationship between the ASVAB scores and the attrition rate at the AE(A1) school. The researcher was concerned with whether or not a range of individual scores, instead of just a minimum score, should be used as qualifiers for and placement into schools and whether more or less weight should be placed on ASVAB as predictors of success when assigning students to a particular field of study?

Pearson product-moment correlation was applied to the data. The findings of this study did answer the questions of relationships between individual portions of the ASVAB, composite scores, and the final course grades of both attributes and graduates of the AE(A1) school. The correlation coefficient was far too low to consider the option of whether or not the range of scores should replace a minimum score as a course entry qualifier and success predictor.

There was a significant positive correlation between the independent variables, the ASVAB subtests, and the dependent variable, final course grades, for graduate subjects and no correlation for the same variables for the attrited students. The study concluded that all subtest variables contributed to the make-up of the overall composite score; however, mathematical knowledge showed a higher correlation with the final course grade than the other variables.

Recommendations were that future studies be conducted (1) to investigate and/or isolate a predictor that would identify the potentially unsuccessful student early in his/her enlistment to assist in reducing attrition in technical training courses in the United States Navy, (2) to determine prior academic success by investigating prior scholastic achievement and academic performance data of secondary school students in an effort to provide institutions of higher learning with more accurate predictors of success, and (3) to develop and administer a test instrument that could equate occupational interest to job performance involving isolating generic occupational interests with follow-on specific tests in areas indicating interest, ability, and academic potential to occupational clusters.

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