among the aptitude-screened and medically-quali-
fied applicants having the greater amounts of
prior ATC experience, particularly those having
more than two years.

F. Amounts of ATC Experience, Age, and
Attrition-Retention Rates of Pilots. As may be
recalled from Figures 3 and 4, the pilot and non-
pilot subgroups having ATC experience were
generally somewhat similar with respect to their
attrition-retention rates, whereas the rates of
those having pilot experience only were contrast-
ingly different from each of the former, and more
comparable with those having neither pilot nor
ATC experience. Moreover, the subsequent
analyses (Figures 5 and 6) relating to the non-
pilot ATC-experienced subjects (only) revealed
that the probabilities of training success for the
younger subjects, and particularly those under
31 years of age, tended to progressively increase
in accordance with level of prior ATC experience.
We therefore expected to find similar relation-
ships between the criteria and amounts of ATC
experience claimed by the pilot-rated ATCSs re-
cruited during either of the two time periods.
That hypothesis is supported by the results shown
in Figure 7 for the 103 ATC-experienced pilots
of the 1960-1963 sample and to a much lesser ex-
tent by those depicted in Figure 8 for the 92
ATCSs of 1969 who held both pilot and ATC
ratings.

The subgroup of 103 recruited during 1960—
1963 included 48 subjects of age 30 and younger,
31 of whom possessed ATC experience in excess
of three years. None of the 31 were attrited dur-
ing basic training, whereas the Academy elimina-
tion rates were 27.8% and 16.7%, respectively,
for the 11 claimants of ATC experience rang-
ing from 25 to 36 months and the six who indi-
cated they had 24 months or less. Only eight
of the 103 were 31 to 35 years old; only one of
the eight failed to successfully complete Academy
training, but that failing subject was one of the
four who claimed less than 25 months of pre-
FAA control work. Fifty-seven of the 103 pilots
were over 35 years old and/or possessed no more
than two years ATC experience. Although not
specifically shown in the figure, 33.3% (N=19)
of the 57 were attrited at the Academy and
50.0% (N=19) of the 88 who passed basic train-
ing were still in FAA ATC work at the begin-
ning of 1973. In contrast, only 6.5% (N=8) of

20

the 46 pilot-rated ATCSs of age 35 and younger
having more than two years of prior ATC ex-
perience were Academy attritions and 55.8% of
the 43 who graduated were “retentions” as of
January 1, 1973.

Sixty-four of the 92 ATCSs of 1969 who
claimed both pilot and ATC ratings entered
training when no older than 30 and the ages of
an additional ten ranged from 31 to 35. Only
nine of the 92 were attrited during Academy
training; just four of the nine were among the
64 youngest ATCSs and none were among those
aged 31 to 35. The small number of non-gradu-
ates precludes a meaningful comparison of the
Academy elimination rates of the subjects by age
level. Much the same is true with respect to the
post-Academy attrition and retention rates, re-
gardless of whether based on Academy entrants
or graduates. Twenty (21.7%) of the 92 were
post-Academy attritions. Two of the seven reten-
tions among the 18 graduates of age 36 and older
entered with ATC experience of 24 months or
less and one claimed experience in excess of four
years. Although not reflected in Figure 8, the
overall retention rate for the 70 Academy gradu-
ates of age 35 and younger was 80.0%; their re-
tention rates by experience level, proceeding from
the lower to higher experience categories, were
76.5, 64.3, 87.0, and 87.5%.

These findings, others which may be ferreted
from the data presented in Figure 8, and the
results discussed above for the 103 ATC-experi-
enced pilots recruited during 1960-1963 illustrate
that the probabilities of success in the ATCS
profession for pilot-rated personnel are far more
related to entry age than level of prior ATC
experience. Beginning at about age 36, aging
effects (negative in nature) tend to grossly out-
weigh the benefits of previous control work. The
retention rates of the younger pilots tend to vary
jn accordance with level of ATC experience in
much the same manner as those previously dis-
cussed for the non-pilot subjects. In other words,
the obtained results provide little or no support
for the theory that the beneficial effects of ATC
experience are generally greater for pilot-rated
ATCSs than non-pilot personnel. However, in-
asmuch as the study did not include the collection
of job performance ratings, we may only specu-
late as to whether such a theory has substance
insofar as it applies to level of controller pro-
ficiency.


Nonetheless, in order to more clearly resolve
the issue concerning the pilot-experience selection
standards, the differentially experienced sub-
groups were combined (in the same manner as
previously described in connection with Figure 1)
to permit comparison of the attrition rates for
pilot and non-pilot personnel having no ATC ex-
perience vs. those having three months or more.
Results of the summary analysis, in which com-
munications experience was entirely disregarded,
appear in the lower portion of Figure 3. Two
hundred sixty of the 1,740 (14.9%) possessed
pilot experience but no ATC experience; their
Academy attrition rate was 48.8%, not signifi-
cantly different from the 51.0% pertaining to the
304 subjects who had neither pilot nor ATC ex-
perience. However, significantly lower (p<.01)
Academy elimination rates were obtained for the
two remaining subgroups. Only 21.4% of the
103 trainees having both ATC and pilot experi-
ence failed to graduate from the Academy’s
basic-training phase and the non-graduates repre-
sented only 15.9% of the 1,073 who were “Non-
Pilots With ATC Experience.”

It should be emphasized that the post-Academy
attrition and retention rates appearing through-
out this report were invariably computed on the
basis of entrants into Academy training. Anal-
yses were also accomplished which involved com-
parison of the subgroups relative to the post-
Academy attrition and retention rates of the
Academy graduates only. However, results stem-
ming from the latter and also those of many other
analyses conducted during the course of the in-
vestigation are not presented here in order to
limit the length of this report. For the same
reason, we have omitted discussion of differences
between the subgroups with respect to the
(presented) post-Academy attrition rates based
on numbers entering training. Instead, most of
the analyses selected for discussion concern the
Academy elimination rates and/or post-Academy
retention rates of the entrants. (Inasmuch as the
post-Academy retention rate of each subgroup
was complementary to the combined Academy-
elimination and post-Academy attrition rates,
there was no need to compare the subgroups with
respect to all three rates.)

As shown in Figure 3, the post-Academy reten-
tion rates of the differentially experienced sub-
groups of the 1960-1963 sample ranged from

12

23.1% to 67.8%. The rate of 23.1% for the 208
subjects having pilot experience only was identical
to that established for the 52 pilots who also
claimed communications experience of three or
more months, A highly comparable retention rate
of 24.3% was obtained for the 70 non-pilots who
had neither ATC nor communications experience.
Four of the five remaining subgroups had sig-
nificantly higher (p<.05) retention rates. The
exception pertained to the relatively small number
of subjects (N=19) who indicated they possessed
pilot experience in combination with both ATC
and communications; their retention rate was
31.6%. Appreciably higher than the latter were
the rates of 39.3 and 41.7% obtained for the 234
having communications experience only and the
84 categorized as “Pilots With Pre-FAA ATC
Experience.” Significantly different (p<.05)
from the 39.3%, but not the 41.7, was the reten-
tion rate of 54.7% for the 139 who claimed both
ATC and communications experience. However,
some 67.8% of the 934 who indicated they had
ATC experience only were still in the ATC sys-
tem at the beginning of 1978; all differences be-
tween their retention rate and those of other
subgroups proved statistically significant at the
.01 level of probability.

When communications experience was disre-
garded, it was determined that 260 of the 1,740
recruits of 1960-1963 were non-ATC pilots.
(Data relating to these and other combined sub-
groups appear in the lower portion of Figure 3.)
The retention rate for the 260 was 23.1%, sig-
nificantly below the rate of 35.9% established for
the 304 who had neither pilot nor ATC experience.
(As may be recalled, 234 of the 304 possessed
communications experience only.) The next
highest rate, though not significantly different
from the 35.9%, was 39.8%; it pertained to the
103 ATCSs who claimed both pilot and ATC
experience. In contrast, 66.1% of the 1,073 non-
pilot subjects who indicated they had three or
more months of ATC experience were still in the
FAA control system on January 1, 1973. The
significantly higher (p<.01) retention rate of
the latter suggests that the ATCS selection
process should continue to include consideration
of each applicant’s prior ATC experience. How-
ever, there is no evidence to support the tradi-
tional belief that pilot experience is valid for
prediction of success in the profession.


Pilot Hours
Rating _ Logged
ATR 1000 & >

350-999
349 & <
Total
Comm, 1000 & >
With
Instru, 350°999
Rating 349 & <
Total
Comm, 1000 & >
Only 350-999
349 & <
Total
Private 1000 & >
With
Instru, 350-999
Rating 349 & <
Total
Private 1000 & >
Only 350-999
349 & <
Total
Total 1000 & >
350-999
349 & <
Total

1 January 1973

EK CEE Wi 38.5%
WK 30-82\ N 38.5%

28 6%

46.8%

52.9%

55.7%

52.0%

13

13

134
102

296

13
30
27

70

we PFN YW

23
112

141

169
157
203
529

Fievre 9. Attrition and retention rates by type of pilot rating and hours of logged flying time for 529 entrants into

ATCS basic training in 1969 who held aircraft pilot licenses but no pre-FAA rating(s) in ATC work.



appointed to training with pay grades of GS-7
and lower. The difference between the post-
Academy (ie., facility-training) elimination rates
of the two differentially selected Terminal sub-
groups was somewhat greater than that obtained
between the En Route subsamples but neither
difference was statistically significant. Had the
results not been confounded by aging effects, the
authors would have concluded that specialized
ATC experience was of little or no value to most
trainees after Academy graduation. However,
almost 23% of the higher-graded trainees of the
combined En Route and Terminal options were
35 years of age or older, whereas slightly less
than 14% of those appointed as GS-7’s or lower
were older than 34.

Unpublished research, involving several hun-
dred ATCSs who had successfully completed
either En Route or Terminal basic training at the
Academy in 1969, revealed highly significant dif-
ferences between the post-Academy attrition rates
(as determined on December 1, 1971) for trainees
aged “35 and older” vs. those “34 and younger.”
For Academy graduates of GS-9 level and higher,
the facility-training attrition rates were 42% and
17.5% for the older and younger subgroups, re-
spectively. About 25% of the ATCSs of GS-7
level and lower who were over 35 years old were
attrited after returning to their home facilities
whereas the post-Academy elimination rate of the
younger ATCSs having similar pay grades was
only 18%. Moreover, several earlier studies* 7"! ”
had consistently shown chronological age to be
inversely related (at highly significant levels)
to scores on numerous aptitude tests, various in-
dices of Academy training progress, and ratings
of journeyman-level:job performance.

As early as 1965, it was the view of at least
some FAA. officials that a special early-retire-
ment program was needed for controllers and that
the recruitment of ATC trainees should be re-
stricted to those qualified applicants who were
relatively young. However, such proposed poli-
cies ran counter to the CSC regulations pertaining
to all federal service employees except those spe-
cifically exempted by Congressional legislation.
Research concerning age-related effects upon ATC
performance was intensified and, in 1972, the cu-
mulative body of findings prompted Congressional
legislation authorizing the FAA and CSC to
further develop and implement a proposed ATC
“Second-Career Program.” The Congressional

pill, Public Law 92-297, became effective on Janu-
ary 31, 1973, and the new program became opera-
tional in April of the same year. Since that time,
ATCSs receive credit for 14 years of federal
service for each year of active contro] work; the
normally prescribed minimum-age requirement of
55 does not apply to control personnel; early
retirement is not mandatory but retention as an
ATCS requires maintenance of job proficiency,
and they are also offered training for other jobs
(ie, “second-career training”). Moreover, as a
means of countering aging and “burnout” effects,
the FAA has been permitted to establish a screen-
ing standard with respect to age.

B. Current Selection Standards. When ATC
selection procedures were last revised in April
1973, many of the earlier qualification standards
were retained. However, two major changes were
made: (1) highly specialized experience no longer
warrants waiver of the aptitude-screening phase
nor appointment to training at any grade higher
than GS-7; (2) the maximum age limit for entry
into ATC training is 30, regardless of prior ex-
perience. Eligibility for training is restricted to
those medically certified candidates no older than
30 who, in addition to other qualifications, have
demonstrated their aptitude for training and
work as ATCSs by scoring at least 210 on the
CSC Test Battery. Each examinee’s test per-
formance score is converted to a percentile (e.g.,
a raw score of 210 corresponds to the 70th per-
centile) which is supplemented by points credited
for experience. Experience as a pilot, navigator,
flight dispatcher, and/or in other aviation fields
continues to be weighted in the selection process,
although not as heavily as prior ATC experience.
While such procedures may seem reasonable, pre-
vious studies," 1° * in which measures of Academy
basic-training performance served as criteria,
have failed to demonstrate the validity of any
type experience other than prior air traffic con-
trol.

C. The Issue of Using Aircraft-Pilot Experi-
ence for Selection Purposes. Unpublished studies
in which biographical data were collected and
analyzed for large samples of ATCSs recruited
during the past 13 years have generally shown

. that 40% or more were former military control-

lers.and that 40 to 45% of the remaining selectees
held aircraft-pilot ratings. As alluded to earlier,
the results of several studies’ ’ ** ** have suggested
that various types of pre-FAA ATC experience



“peter MB erie KO Mecteteee” C0 sticaty sis
Age ATC Exp.

s16> 49 6> CoCr 16
37 - 48
25 - 36 K\\ ETA WW Q
we< 3
Total MLW \ W 9.1%] 22

36 - 40 49 &> AP CREA WI 8
37 - 48 75.0% .
25 - 36 (33.37) XS 33-32 OG . 3
wE< 100.0% 2
Total WS 36.02 25

31-35 4 &> [WS SSN W292 QQ QQ. 2
37 - 48 WERT IWIN 50.0% 2
25 - 36 oO
wa< 25.0% 50.0% 4
Total (12.57) Wy Ww 37.5% 8

30&< 49&> 38.5% WN 61.5% 13
37 - 48 4d DT NNW 35.6% 18
25 - 36 ° 45.5% l
wa < 50.0% 6
Total 54.2% 48

tes 49 & > WY 34.0% 47
37 = 48 48.0% 25
25 - 36 K QOy 37.5% 16
we< . 20 OLN 46.7% 15
Total NN 39.8% 103

Ficure 7. Attrition and retention rates by age and months of prior ATC experience for 103 personnel who entered
FAA ATCS training during September 1960 through August 1963 with pre-FAA experience in ATC work and
as licensed aircraft pilots.

21



However, little or no evidence was obtained to
support the long-standing hypothesis that VFR
experience is relevant to success in FAA En
Route work. Only 21.9% of the 32 VFR-experi-
enced En Route subjects of age 31 and older
were still in the air traffic system at the beginning
of 1978; their retention rate was lower than
obtained for any other subgroup and differed
substantially, though not significantly, from the
rate of 35.99% established by the 385 En Route
entrants of age 31 and older who possessed no
ATC ratings. Moreover, the En Route recruits
of age 30 and younger who had no ATC ratings
fared almost as well as the VFR-experienced
En Route personnel of the same age bracket;
their retention rates were 59.0 and 61.8%, respec-
tively.

In their report of 1970, the Air Traffic Con-
troller Career Committee questioned the appro-
priateness of selecting former military controllers
with Terminal experience only for training in
En Route work. As alluded to earlier, the
analysis depicted in Figure 10 indicates that pre-
entry IFR experience is only slightly less valid
for prediction of En Route success than Terminal
success—for ATCSs of age 30 and younger. The
data also infer that the benefits associated with
IFR experience exceed those of VFR experience,
regardless of training option. In our opinion,
it would be desirable, if possible, to select al/ En
Route and Terminal trainees from aptitude-
sereened candidates having pre-FAA IFR con-
trol experience. However, inasmuch as such
candidates will undoubtedly be limited in num-
ber, we would consider it inadvisable to assign
them all to Terminal training as previously
recommended in a report by Education and
Public Affairs, Incorporated.’

C. Questioned Worthiness of Communications
Experience for Selection Purposes. Attrition-
retention data for the 94 ATCSs of 1969 who
claimed communications ratings only are shown
in Figure 11. Twenty-seven (28.7%) of the 94
were attrited during basic training, 16 (17%)
were post-Academy attritions, and 51 were still
in FAA control work on January 1, 1973. When
categorized on the basis of specific types of com-
munications experience, the subgroups were so
small as to render the results unreliable. How-
ever, the retention rate of 54.3% for the entire
group of 94 was highly comparable with the

rate of 52.1% for the 706 subjects who entered
with no ATC, pilot, or communications ratings.
Thus, there is little likelihood that any future
research will reveal methods of assessing and
weighting various types of communications ,ex-
perience so as to substantially improve the overall
ATCS selection program.

D. Potential of Screening on Age, Aptitude,
Experience, and Education. As mentioned ear-
lier, all but three of the 2,352 ATCSs of 1969
completed the biographical questionnaire. Ap-
proximately 90% of the 2,349 respondents indi-
cated they had been administered the operational
CSC ATC Aptitude Test Battery when estab-
lishing their candidacy for appointment; and,
about 15% of those purportedly examined claimed
that their test scores were disregarded because
of their experience qualifications. However, test
performance scores were forwarded to CAMI for
only 1,485 of the 2,849 and the 1,485 were not
representative of the total group presumably
examined. Due to existing workloads, regional
officials frequently found it necessary to have
their staffs postpone the task of examining rec-
ords for CSC test data until several months
after entry of the ATCS groups into Academy
training. Unfortunately, scores were no longer
available for many of the ATCSs after such a
time lapse. This was particularly true with re-
gard to many of the attrited personnel, For
example, although 490 (20.9%) of the 2,349
ATCSs were attrited during this Academy train-
ing stage alone, the group of 1,485 for whom CSC
test scores were forwarded included only 171, or
34.9%, of the 490 Academy attritions and 1,314,
or almost 71%, of the 1,859 graduates. It should
also be emphasized that the CSC battery was
designed to screen, or preclude from entry, those
individuals not having aptitudes or abilities of
sufficient level to pass basic training. Thus, if
the battery is indeed fulfilling that purpose, then
research on aptitude-screened groups should be
expected to yield little evidence of that validity.
It is only with this perspective that the results
of the summary analysis appearing in Table 1
can be meaningfully interpreted.

All data shown in Table 1 except those relat-
ing to aptitude level are the same as extracted
from ore or more of the previous analyses and
therefore will not again be discussed in great de-
tail. However, in looking at the data for the



Other Findings Relating to the
ATCSs Recruited During 1969

A number of other analyses were conducted
on the 1969 sample in order to obtain additional
information bearing upon the possible improve-
ment of selection procedures. Many of the cur-
rent (1974) selection standards are much the same
as those in effect during 1969 but appreciably dif-
ferent from those in operational use prior to 1964.
For that reason primarily, none of the analyses
discussed in subsequent sections of this report
were replicated with the 1960-1963 sample. More-
over, data of the type which would have been
needed for some of the analyses were simply not
available for the ATCSs of the earlier time
period.

A. Level of Pilot Experience and ATCS
Attrition-Retention Probability. As mentioned
in the introductory section of this report, several
pilot-rated instructors of the Academy’s basic
ATC training courses and also long-tenured
ATCSs with pilot licenses expressed the view that
the issue concerning the validity of pilot experi-
ence had resulted from “liberal” evaluation stand-
ards. They were generally unapproving of
policies under which the applicants with a private
pilot license and only 350 hours of logged flying
time have been awarded credit points (toward
the overall eligibility rating) for that experience
and/or, at various times in the past, been declared
qualified on the ATC Aptitude Test Screening
Battery with scores lower than prescribed as
minimally passing for applicants having no avia-
tion-related experience. Many of the discussants
suggested that the pilot-experience evaluation
procedures should be revised to include greater
consideration of type, or level, of pilot rating and
also amount of logged flying time in excess of
500 hours. The cogency of their arguments
prompted us to undertake several additional
analyses, the first of which is depicted in Figure 9.

In this analysis, the 529 pilot-rated subjects
who entered training with no prior ATC experi-
ence were initially categorized on the basis of
types of pilot licenses they held. The lowest of
the five categories was “Private Pilot License
With No Instrument Rating”; the highest was
“Air Transport Rating.” Next, Secondary cate-
gories were established indicating logged flying
time of “849 hours or less,” “350 to 999,” and
“1,000 hours or more.”

The highest of the Academy attrition rates for
the subjects of any major category, irrespective
of flying time, was 31.9%. It pertained to the
141 subjects holding Private Licenses but no in-
strument ratings. However, 13 ATR pilots had
a comparable overall] Academy elimination rate
of 80.8%, whereas the corresponding rates for
the three remaining and intermediate-ranked cate-
gories ranged from 11.1 to 28.6%. In other
words, the basic-training attrition rates reflected
no relationship to level (i.e., type) of pilot rating.
Also, with the exception of the 141 lowest-rated
pilots, there was no pattern or trend in the
Academy attrition rates with respect to logged
flying time. Moreover, the findings relating to
the 141 reflected a positive, or undesirable, rela-
tionship between Academy attrition probability
and flying time. Some 112 of the 141 possessed
flying time of 349 hours or less; their Academy
attrition rate was 25.9%, considerably below the
rate of 47.8% for the 23 claiming 350 to 999 hours
and contrastingly different from the 83.3% rate
etablished for the six having 1,000 hours or more.
Although not shown, the post-Academy reten-
tion rates of the Academy graduates (N=339)
among the 529 appeared to vary independently
of both level of pilot rating and flying time.

Other analyses pertaining to the group of 529
pilots yielded findings of incidental interest. For
example, it was determined that while the rela-
tively few pilots over 35 years of age tended to
have greater amounts of flying time than their
younger colleagues, there was no consistent rela-
tionship between the subjects’ logged hours of
flying and their attrition-retention rates—regard-
less of entry age. (See Appendix B.) Moreover,
an analysis, the results of which appear in the
left-hand portion of Appendix C, further demon-
strated there was no point on the pilot-experience
continuum which could be adjudged “appro-
priate” for screening purposes. In brief, all find-
ings relating to the 529 pilots having no prior
ATC experience either failed to support, or ran
counter to, the theory that higher, more rigid,
standards in the evaluation of pilot experience
should enhance its validity as a selection factor.
This was also true with respect to the results
(not shown) which were obtained in correspond-
ing analyses of data for the 92 pilot-rated ATCSs
of 1969 who claimed pre-FAA ATC ratings.



Entry

41 &>

36 - 40

31 - 35

30 & <

All
Ages

Months of
Prior

Age ATC Exp.

49 & >
37 - 48
25 - 36
2&<

Total

49& >
37 - 48
25 - 36
2a <

Total

49 & >
37 - 48
25 - 36
2a&<

Total

49 & >
37 - 48
25 - 36
24a <

Total

49& >
37 - 48
25 - 36
24&<

Total

Academy WY
Attritions
2. 1%,
50.0%
66.77%
43.2%

Post -Academy Retentions
Attritions 1 January 1973
23 77NWY 34.2%

50.0%
100.0% NWN YQ
WEAN
25.0% 31.8%

23.1%

60.0%

57.1%

36.4%

50.0%

55.9%

80.5%

74.7%

71.3%

59.2%

72.9%

63.2%

72.1%

69.2%

ERAN

56.6%

19.8%

66.7%

55
21
l

93

149
292
171
103

715

307
323
185
113

928

Figure 6. Attrition and retention rates by age and months of prior ATC experience for 928 personnel who entered

FAA ATCS training during 1969 with pre-FAA rating(s) in ATC work but not licensed as aircraft pilots.

18



(14.9%) of the subjects entered ATCS training
as “Non-ATC Pilots,” an additional 103 (5.9%)
were pilots who also had ATC experience, and
1,073 (61.7%) were categorized as “Non-Pilot
ATC.” The remaining 304 (17.5%) included the
234 having communications experience only and
the 70 who possessed little (i.e. less than three
months) or no experience in air traffic control,
communications work, or as pilots.

B. Eaperience Backgrounds of ATCSs of 1969.
The biographical questionnaire administered to
the 2,352 trainees recruited during 1969 was con-
siderably more lengthy, better structured, and
more refined than that which the trainees of 1960-
1968 were asked to complete. Due to the im-
proved questionnaire and greater care employed

. in its administration, the information elicited
from the ATCSs of 1969 was more easily coded
and processed and generally deemed more reliable
than that collected on the earlier group.

Only three of the 2,352 ATCS recruits of 1969
failed to complete those items of the questionnaire
relating to pre-FAA experience. All but 706 of
the 2,349 respondents indicated they held, or had
held, ratings, licenses, or certificates as military
controllers, civilian or military pilots, and/or as
specialists in communications. (See Figure 2.)
The remaining 706 represented 30.0% of the 1969
sample. As may be recalled, only 4.0% (N=70)
of the 1,740 trainees of September 1960-August
1963 were categorized as having little or no ATC,
pilot, or communications experience. The dis-
parity between the two percentages is probably
due to a combination of factors and circumstances.
As discussed earlier, ATC-aptitude-test-screening
procedures were first implemented in July 1962
but, until January 1964, applied to only those
applicants unable to qualify on the basis of ex-
perience in aviation fields. However, the vast
majority of the subjects who successfully estab-
lished their candidacy on the basis of test scores
during the 18-month interim were never selected
for training because their competitive (i.e., eligi-
bility) ratings were generally lower than those
who qualified on the basis of aviation experience.
Screening procedures were progressively modified
during the ensuing years, with aviation experience
being less heavily weighted in the selection process
than during the pre-1964 period. Moreover, a
program. was well underway in 1969 to rapidly
expand the air traffic control system; the recruit-
ment of trainees was accelerated and, although

high qualification standards were maintained,
competition for the training positions declined.
Consequently, increasingly greater numbers of
candidates with moderate-to-low eligibility rat-
ings were selected, including many with back-
grounds unrelated to aviation.

1. Backgrounds and retention rates of 706 non-
rated trainees of 1969. Records of the 706 ATCS
trainees of 1969 who held no ratings in ATC,
pilot, or communications work were re-examined
in order to determine whether any other types of
aviation-related experience were sufficiently valid
for predictive purposes to warrant establishment,
of additional categories for inclusion in the num-
erous analyses scheduled for subsequent phases
of the study. As shown in Appendix A, 230 of
the 706 had backgrounds wnrelated to aviation;
47.0% of the 230 were still in the air traffic con-
trol system as of January 1, 1973.

Also, 237 of the 706 possessed experience in
aviation other than in ATC, pilot, and communi-
cations fields. Many of the 237 claimed ratings,
licenses, or certificates in their respective fields.
However, their backgrounds were quite varied.
In fact, the 237 were initially sorted into 29 sub-
groups, the largest of which contained only 30
cases. The 30 claimed prior service as Flight
Data Aids; 56.7% (N=17) of the 30 were still
in the FAA as ATCSs at the beginning of 1973.
An additional 20 of the 237 were reliably cate-
gorized as “Navigators or Navigators With
Bombardier Experience.” Their retention rate
was 40.0%. Subgroups having backgrounds in
éither GCI (ground controlled intercept) or al-
lied fields such as AC&W (aircraft control and
warning), etc. were eventually merged. The
latter consisted of 108 subjects, 59.3% of whom
were “retentions.” The remaining 79 of the 237
were categorized as having “Miscellaneous or
Other Experience” (e.g., air operations, radar
flight following, dispatch work, etc.). Their re-
tention rate was 53.2%.

Some 239 of the 706 claimed limited experience,
but no ratings, in ATC, pilot, or communications
fields. One hundred ninety-eight of the 239
had backgrounds which seemed to warrant cate-
gorization under “Communications.” Their re-
tention rate of 52.5% was only one-tenth of one
point lower than that obtained for 19 “Non-
Rated Pilots,” whereas 68.2% of the 22 subjects
having non-rated ATC experience were “reten-
tions.” However, a comparison of all categories


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fested in the relatively low attrition rates of the
pilots for all phases of the controller-training
program. Several claimed that the current issue
regarding the use of pilot experience as a selec-
tion factor would never have arisen “if the stand-
ards had remained sufficiently high to preclude
the entry of so many ‘leisure-time’ or ‘Sunday’
pilots.” Unfortunately, we were unable to locate
any factual information concerning the back-
grounds and training progress of ATCSs re-
eruited during the immediate post-war years.
However, it is commonly acknowledged that mili-
tary pilots with extensive flying experience and
navigational knowledge have represented pro-
gressively smaller proportions of the pilot-rated
personnel selected each year since about 1955.
Skepticism regarding the validity of pilot ex-
perience for selection purposes has continued to
mount and particularly since publication of the
report of the Air Traffic Controller Career Com-
mittee in January 1970.1 ‘The committee stated
that no evidence could be found indicating any
type of pre-FAA experience other than ATC
work to be useful for prediction of FAA ATCS
training progress or subsequent job performance.
They recommended “elimination of credit for
pilot experience” in the selection process. The
same recommendation was made in July 1970 by
Education and Public Affairs, Incorporated, in
a report entitled “A Review and Evaluation of
the Present System for Selection of Con-
trollers.”® However, neither of the two investi-
gative bodies cited any studies other than those
by CAMI as a basis for their conclusions and
recommendations concerning pilot experience, and
those cited studies do not necessarily imply that
all such experience should be completely disre-
garded. None of the studies focused directly
upon the issue of pilot experience; none included
determination of the attrition-rate probabilities
for ATOCSs relative to their flying time or types
of ratings held (e.g., private license, commercial
license, instrument rating, air transport rating,
etc.) ; and the interaction effects of age, aptitude,
and education upon the validities of pilot ex-
perience and other types of experience have never
been assessed and compared. The present study
was undertaken to obtain such information and
thereby minimize much of the conjecture which
would otherwise arise in the formulation of fu-
ture standards relating to the evaluation of prior
experience in the selection of ATCS trainees.

Il. Method.

A. Subjects, This report pertains to a longi-
tudinal study of 4,092 former students of the
Academy’s basic training courses in En Route
and Terminal procedures. The focus of the study
is upon 2,352 subjects who entered the Academy
during the calendar year 1969, For comparative
purposes, however, several analyses corresponding
to those based on the recruits of 1969 were also
accomplished on 1,740 ATCS entrants of the
time period September 1960 through August 1963.

B. Biographical Questionnaires. The study
was facilitated by the availability of pre-employ-
ment information and other data which had been
collected for the two groups of ATCSs in con-
junction with previous studies concerning the
validity of various aptitude test measures for
prediction of training performance. Inasmuch
as the procedures and results relating to the
different, phases of that research have been dis-
cussed in detail in a number of earlier publica-
tions, *7 they will not be elaborated upon in this
report. However, it should be emphasized that
the biographical questionnaire administered to the
pre-1964 trainees was slightly different from the
corresponding instrument which the ATCS re-
cruits of 1969 were requested to complete. The
former was not as refined as the latter; it con-
tained a number of “open-ended” or ambiguously
stated questions and consequently we were, in
many cases, unable to determine the exact
amounts of specific types of aviation-related ex-
perience possessed by an ATCS and/or the rat-
ing(s), license(s), or certificate(s) he may have
held in aviation fields prior to entry into training.
While this was particularly true with respect to
pilots, navigators, and others, the former military
controllers almost invariably cited the length of
their ATC service but frequently failed to indicate
the type of ATC rating they held, such as IFR
(instrument flight rules), VFR (visual flight
rules), etc. Nonetheless, the information con-
cerning most experience normally considered in
the selection process was generally sufficient to
permit us to reliably categorize the entrants of
the earlier time period into experimental groups
as was done in some of the analyses conducted on
the ATCSs of 1969.



were primarily beneficial to the ATCSs during
the basic-training phase only, whereas all other
experience, including aircraft-pilot experience,
appeared to be of questionable value at any stage
of the training. Yet, little or no information has
been gleaned from prior research to indicate
whether the pilot-experience standards should be
abolished, drastically revised, or modified only
slightly.

The validities of aviation-related experience
(pilot, navigator, etc.) and also other kinds of
experience for prediction of training progress
have never been firmly established. Several
CAML studies, though focusing upon other objec-
tives, have included a comparison of the training
attrition rates for groups of non-rated subjects
and those having pre-FAA ratings as_ pilots,
ATCSs, or communications specialists. However,
amounts of each type experience were seldom
dealt with. Moreover, the results have generally
been difficult to interpret due to the presumed
(but unassessed) interaction effects of numerous
variables. The subjects established their eligi-
bility for training on the basis of various factors
and standards and, inasmuch as chronological age
was not considered in the screening process until
1978, those with rated experience tended to be
somewhat older than the non-rated subjects. Re-
search‘ **7 has consistently shown age to be in-
versely related to performance on the CSC ATC
Test Battery and to measures of training per-
formance. Yet, no studies have been accom-
plished to determine the extent to which the
validities of the different types and amounts of
aviation-related experience might vary as a funt-
tion of the interaction effects of age and aptitude
level and also education.

Most of the CAMI studies referred to above
involved comparison of Academy-training-per-
formance criterion measures only for subjects
having different types of experience. In each
such investigation, the trainees who held pre-FAA
ATC ratings were found to have significantly
higher training-course grade averages and/or
graduation rates than all other groups, whereas
the mean differences between the pilot-rated
trainees and the communications-rated and non-
rated personnel were usually rather small and not
statistically significant.

Such results, however, do not necessarily war-
rant the conclusion that pilot experience should

be completely disregarded in the screening of
ATCS applicants. To the contrary, it is possible
that the existing-standards are merely too liberal.
Under current procedures, a total of five points
is credited toward the overall eligibility rating
of each pilot-rated applicant having 350 or more
hours of logged flight time. A cursory review
of biographical-questionnaire response data for
several hundred pilot-rated ATCS trainees re-
cruited during 1969 revealed that about half of
them possessed no more than a private pilot
license and 350 to 500 hours of logged flying
time, and that less than 30% had 1,000 hours or
more.

In preparing for the present study, the authors
contacted a number of Academy instructors and
other long-tenured ATCS personnel and solicited
their opinions regarding the validity of pilot
experience for selection purposes. Each was con-
sulted on an individual basis and granted assur-
ance of anonymity. Few expressed satisfaction
with the current standards, several stated that
pilot experience should not be considered in the
selection process unless the applicant held a com-
mercial license with an instrument rating, and
some felt that all pilot experience should be dis-
regarded.

Of all the discussants, those who had entered
civilian ATCS training shortly after World War
II seemed to have the strongest opinions. Many
with military service as Airport Tower Operators
said that pilot experience has always received
unwarranted emphasis; they felt that the selec-
tion standards used for several years after 1945
tended to favor the pilot-rated applicants, and
that the military controllers frequently repre-
sented a minority of the ATCS-trainee recruits
because they generally experienced greater diffi-
culty in establishing highly competitive eligibility
ratings. However, most of the long-tenured
ATCSs who had served as pilots during the war
felt that their candidacy for the military pilot-
training programs, and commissionea-officer
status upon graduation, had been based on excep-
tionally high qualification standards (e.g., mental
abilities and/or education, etc.). Some alleged
that the majority of the pilot-rated ATCSs re-
cruited during those years possessed more than
1,000 hours of flying time, usually with a great
deal of navigational training and experience, and
that the validity of that experience was mani-


Figure 6 reflects little or no relationship be-
tween the Academy elimination rates and
amounts of prior experience claimed by the ATC-
rated subjects of ages 41 and older, 36 to 40, or
31 to 35. However, the rates of the 715 youngest
ATCSs of 1969 follow a pattern similar to that
obtained for the youngest and comparably experi-
enced subgroup: of the 1960-1963 sample. Only
108 of the 715 indicated they had ATC experience
of 24 months or less; 16.5% of the 103 failed to
successfully complete their basic training. Pro-
gressively lower rates of 10.5, 7.9, and 4.7%
were obtained for the subjects claiming 25 to 36,
37 to 48, and 49 months of more of prior control
experience. Inasmuch as relatively few of the
ATCSs of age 31 to 35 possessed ATC experience
of less than 25 months or 25 to 36 months, their
Academy attrition rates of 33.3% and 54.5% can-
not be considered reliable, nor can they be mean-
ingfully compared with the rates of 14.3 and
16.4% for ATCSs of the same age category hav-
ing experience of 37 to 48 months and 49 months
and more. Consequently, the data preclude con-
firmation of the hypothesis, based on findings
with the input of 1960-1963, that the value of
prior ATC experience to the ATCSs during basic
training tends to be overriden by aging effects
beginning at about age 36. There seems to be
little doubt, however, that such experience is of
value to the younger ATCSs, at least those no
older than 30, during basic training.

The post-Academy retention rates shown in
Figure 6 for the 928 ATO-experienced recruits
of 1969 pertain to Academy entrants. Although
not shown, the retention rates for the Academy
graduates, irrespective of experience level, were:
80.2% for the youngest and largest subgroup,
71.2% for the age subgroup 31-35, 58.2% for
those 36 to 40, and 56.0% for the ATCSs aged
41 and older. As may be recalled, correspond-
ing rates for the ATC-experienced graduates of
1960-1963, proceeding from the youngest to the
oldest subgroup, were 80.1, 72.9, 60.7, and 33.3%.
Both sets of data attest to aging effects beyond
the basic-training phase. For one sample, the
rates suggest that the onset of greatest difficulty
in the post-Academy phase occurs at about age
36, whereas those based on the other sample infer
that aging effects are apt to be rather minimal
for all ATCSs under 30. Such an issue, how-
ever, is of little importance because: (1) the ATC-
experienced subjects of age 30 and younger in

19

the two samples had almost identical post-Acad-
emy retention rates (80.2% and 80.1%) and (2)
candidacy for ATCS training has, since April
1973, been restricted to personnel no older than 30.

With the exception of the subjects of age 30
and younger, there appeared to be no relation-
ship between amount of prior ATC experience
and probability of retention. This was true with
respect to the retention rates based on Academy
graduates as well as those depicted in Figure 6 for
entrants. Some 650 (90.9%) of the 715 youngest,
ATC-rated subjects of 1969 successfully com-
pleted basic training ; 80.2% (N=512) of the 650
Academy graduates were still in FAA control
work at the beginning of 1973 but their retention
rates varied in accordance with amount of prior
ATC experience. The retention rate for 86 with
only 25 months of experience was 70.9%, com-
pared to 79.7, 81.0, and 84.5%, respectively, for
those having 25-36 (N=153), 37-48 (N=269),
and 49 or more months (N=142). The retention
rates for the differentially experienced ATC-
rated Academy graduates of the other age cate-
gories were generally much lower and appeared
to vary randomly with respect to ATC experience
level, as did those of all age subgroups in the
1960-1963 sample.

The major findings stemming from all of the
previously discussed analyses for the non-pilot
ATC-rated subjects of both the 1960-1963 and
1969 samples were: (1) the attrition-retention
rates for both the basic-training and post-Acad-
emy phases were in no way associated with the
amount of prior ATC experience for the sub-
groups 36 and older, (2) questionable, or negli-
gible, relationships between the Academy pass-
fail criterion and experience for the subjects of
age 31 to 35, and (3) the experience claimed by
ATCOSs no older than 30 was significantly related
to Academy graduation rates and, for the input
of the more recent time period only, was also
slightly related to post-Academy retention prob-
ability. The older subjects within comparably
experienced subgroups almost invariably had
higher attrition rates than their younger col-
leagues, illustrating the dominant influence of
age. Nonetheless, inasmuch as eligibility stand-
ards have been revised to preclude the candidacy
of personnel over 30 years of age, the findings
discussed above attest to the appropriateness of
selecting as many ATCS trainees as possible from



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B. Level and Type of Pre-FAA ATC Eaperi-
ence and ATCS Attrition-Retention Probability.
Another analysis, the results of which appear in
the right-hand portion of Appendix C, was con-
ducted on the 928 subjects having ATC ratings
only, in order to obtain additional information
bearing upon the establishment of an optimal
“sereening cut” with respect to level, or amount,
of prior ATC experience. Some 19.5% of the
118 ATCSs having 24 months or less of pre-FAA
control experience were attrited during the basic-
training phase whereas the subgroup having
25-36, 37-48, and 49-60 months had successively
lower elimination rates of 13.0, 9.9, and 5.8%,
respectively. A reversal in the trend then oc-
curred ; 9.8% of the 133 claiming 61 to 120 months
were training-course attritions, whereas the 117
with experience of 121 months or more had an
Academy elimination rate of 26.5%. There ap-
peared to be no definite pattern or trend in the
post-Academy attrition and retention rates, re-
gardless of whether based on entrants into train-
ing or Academy graduates only. As may be
recalled, however, an earlier analysis (discussed
in connection with Figure 6), in which these
same subjects were grouped more coarsely with
respect to amount of ATC experience, revealed
that: (1) the retention rates of the Academy
graduates of age 30 and younger varied in accord-
ance with level of experience, with the highest
of the retention rates pertaining to those having
experience of 49 months or more, whereas (2)
the retention rates of the graduates of the age
groups 31 to 35, 36 to 40, and 41 and older were
progressively lower, illustrating an inverse rela-
tionship with entry age but no relationship. to
experience level.

Although not shown, the (product-moment)
correlation between entry age and level of pre-
FAA ATC experience for the entire group of
928 ATC-rated subjects was .76. With age effects
theoretically partialled out, or statistically nul-
lified, the experience variable correlated .14
(p<.01) with attrition-retention status covering
both the Academy and post-Academy phases.

In the past, the FAA has almost always
awarded eligibility points to applicants for pre-
FAA ATC experience extending through 12
months; it has generally done so for experience

25

up to 36 months and sometimes as many as 48
months. Inasmuch as recruiting is currently re-
stricted to personnel no older than 30, the find-
ings depicted in Appendix C, when considered
in combination with those previously shown in
Figure 6, suggest that the selection process might
be further improved by awarding credit points
for ATC experience extending up to 60 months.

An analysis of the response data for the bio-
graphical questionnaire revealed that the vast
majority of the 1,020 ATO-rated subjects (928
of whom were non-pilots and 92 of whom held
both pilot and ATC ratings) were former mili-
tary controllers. Some 367 of the 1,020 claimed
experience in VFR operations only, while the
remaining 653 indicated they had engaged in IFR
operations. Although most of the 653 had worked
with various kinds of radar equipment, very few
claimed experience which would have warranted
classification other than as former military Ter-
minal controllers. This being so, an analysis was
undertaken to determine whether IFR or VFR
experience was differentially valid for prediction
of success in the FAA’s En Route and Terminal
training options. The analysis was extended to
include determination of the attrition and reten-
tion rates of the 1,329 subjects who claimed no
ratings in prior ATC work and, inasmuch as
current standards preclude the recruitment of
ATCS trainees beyond the age of 30, attrition-
retention data were also obtained for comparison
of the subjects aged “31 and older” vs. those “30
and younger” within each of the three major sub-
groups. Results of this analysis are summarized
in Figure 10.

Although both the En Route and Terminal per-
sonnel of age 31 and older had significantly lower
(p<.01) retention rates than their younger col-
leagues having similar experience backgrounds,
the retention rate data attested to the superior
validity of IFR experience over both VFR ex-
perience and non-ATC work for prediction of
success of the older, and also the younger, ATCSs
in either of the two training options. The VFR-
experienced Terminal subjects of each age cate-
gory had slightly higher retention rates than
those who entered Terminal training with no pre-
FAA ATC ratings.



I

Il.

Til.

Iv.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION -__.----~~~--------.-----------------------

A. ATCS Selection and Recruiting History
B. Current Selection Standards

METHOD -_____-_--- --

A. Subjects ------__-
B. Biographical Questionnaires __
C. Criteria for Validation of Pre-FAA Experience —____--..-_--

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION --.--------------------------

COMPARISON OF ATCS TRAINEES OF 1960-1963
WITH THOSE RECRUITED DURING 1969
A. Experience Backgrounds of Pre-1964 Group

B. Experience Backgrounds of ATCSs of 1969 _.
1. Backgrounds and retention rates of 706 ni

of 1969 _
2. Distributi ngs for ATCSs of 1969 ~

. Attrition and Retention Rates by Experience Category for
ATCSs of 1960-1963 ___._-_---/-------------------- eee
. Attrition and Retention Rates by Experience Category for
2,352 ATOSs of 1969 _______--/--------------------
. Amounts of ATC Experience, Age, and Attrition-Retention
Rates of Non-Pilots

. Amounts of ATC Experience, Age, and Attrition-Retention
Rates of Pilots -_____-_-__------------------- peewee

OTHER FINDINGS RELATING TO THE ATCSs
RECRUITED DURING 1969

. Level of Pilot Experience and ATCS Attrition-Retention
Probability -_--..___._.----------------------------------
. Level and Type of Pre-FAA ATC Experience and ATCS
Attrition-Retention Probability .-.-..----------------------

. Questioned Worthiness of Communications Experience for
Selection Purposes -._..----------_----------___----

. Potential of Screening on Age, Aptitude, Experience, and
Education -___-_--_--__----_----------------- +--+

3S Ho a

9 Qs Pp

CONCLUSIONS __

23

25

27



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10


with respect to retention rates yielded only one
statistically significant (p<.05) difference; it per-
tained to the 230 subjects with backgrounds un-
related to aviation and the 108 whom researchers
had somewhat reservedly classified under the sin-
gular heading “GCI.” On the basis of such find-
ings, it was decided that all analyses relating to
the ATOS recruits of 1969 should focus upon the
1,648 who entered training with ATC, pilot, and/
or communications ratings, and that the 706
should be treated as a single subgroup.

2, Distribution of ratings for ATCSs of 1969.
Figure 2 shows the number and proportion of the
ATCSs of 1969 classified under each of eight
mutually exclusive categories. Three percent
(N=71) possessed pilot ratings only, 36.1% (N=
849) had ATC ratings only, and 4.0% (N=94)
entered with communications ratings only.

Some 458 (19.59%) claimed both pilot and com-
munications ratings, 11 (0.5%) possessed both
pilot and ATC ratings, and 81 (3.4%) were pilots
who also held both ATC and communications
ratings. Seventy-nine non-pilots with both ATC
and communications ratings represented 3.4% of
the sample. The remaining 709, including three
for whom experience was unknown and the 706
non-rated subjects represented 30.1% of the total
group.

By combining appropriate subgroups, it was
determined that 22.5% (N=529) entered as
“Non-ATC Pilots” and that 3.9% (N=92) were
pilots who possessed ATC ratings—with or with-
out communications ratings. The “Non-Pilot
ATC-Rated” subjects, regardless of whether rated
in communications, numbered 928 and represented
39.5% of the total group, whereas the remaining
803 having neither pilot nor ATC ratings repre-
sented 34.1%.

Difficulties arise in attempting to compare these
data with those depicted in Figure 1 for the re-
cruits of 1960-1963. The ATCSs of the earlier
time period were categorized according to the
areas in which they attained three months or
more experience, regardless of whether rated or
non-rated. In contrast, the 2,352 ATCSs of
1969 were classified according to the specific rat-
ings they held. While 803 of the 2,352 possessed
neither pilot nor ATC ratings, the 803 included
only 19 non-rated pilots, none of whom claimed
any prior ATC experience, and 22 subjects with
non-rated control experience but no flying ex-
perience. Yet, a review of the data shown in
Figures 1 and 2 will clearly reveal that a sig-

nificantly (p<.01) smaller proportion of the re-
cruits of 1969 possessed prior ATC experience
than did those of 1960-1963. Compared to the
sample of the earlier time period, the 1969 group
also included a slightly higher percentage of
pilots (rated or non-rated) and, as pointed out
earlier, a far greater proportion having no avia-
tion-related experience of any type.

C. Attrition and Retention Rates by Experience
Category for ATCSs of 1960-1963. Figure 3
shows the number and proportion of ATCSs in
each experience category who failed to success-
fully complete the Academy basic-training phase,
those who passed Academy training but left the
air traffic control system before January 1, 1973,
and those still working in the ATCS specialty
at the beginning of 1973.

Looking first at the Academy elimination rates,
it should be noted that the highest, which was
60.0%, pertained to the 70 subjects who had no
ATC, pilot, or communications experience. Next
highest was 51.9% obtained for the 52 ATCSs
who claimed both pilot and communications ex-
perience, whereas the corresponding rates for the
208 categorized under “Pilot Experience Only”
and the 234 designated as “Communications Only”
were 48.1 and 48.3%, respectively. None of the
differences between these four highest-ranked
rates was statistically significant.

Appreciably lower Academy attrition rates
were obtained for the four remaining subgroups,
each of which was comprised of subjects having
prior control experience, either solely or in com-
bination with pilot and/or communications ex-
perience. Rates for three of the four differed
significantly (p<.05) from those of the four sub-
groups devoid of ATC experience. The exception
pertained to the 19 pilots who also claimed both
ATC and communications experience; six of the
19, or 31.6%, failed to complete their basic train-
ing course. The 139 subjects designated as having
“ATC With Communications Experience” and
the 84 classified as “Pilots With ATC Experience”
had Academy elimination rates of 27.38% and
19.0%, respectively. The largest of the eight
subgroups, which was comprised of 934 subjects
who possessed ATC experience only, had the dis-
tinction of having an exceptionally low attrition
rate of only 14.2%. ‘These results infer that all
types of experience other than ATC work were
of little value to the ATCSs during the basic-
training phase.



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Appendix B. Attrition and retention rates by age and hours of logged flying time for 529
personnel who entered FAA ATCS training during 1969 as licensed aircraft pilots but not
having pre-FAA rating(s) in ATC work.

Entry Logged Academy NY Post-Academy Retentions
Age Flying Hrs Attritions BSN actritions 1 January 1973 _N_

1000-2999 3
350-999 f 71.4% 9 X NY 14.3% 7
349 & < AS
Total NI y 30

36-40 3000 & > [50.07] WRENS 28.6% 14
1000-2999 [MME18.27) AW VOEERNWY 45.4% u
350-999 EWN 40.0% 10
349 & < 33.37) YEAS 33.3% 6
Total (34.1% ] WW WI 36.6% 4l

31-35 3000&> JB. N41.7% 50.0% 12
1000-2999 iA 34.5% NOS 27.6% 29
350-999 3 NV35- 52 SOY 29.0% 31
349 & < 38.6% RENN 36.4% 4

So)

Total 34.5% 31.9% 33.6% 116

30 & < 3000 &> 0.07 \ 30.0% 50.0% 10
1000-2999 19.2% 16.47 64.4% 73
350-999 [11,07 25.7% 63.3% 109
349 & < 18.7% 18. 77N 62.7% 150

WW N

Total 6.47) 20,8 62.9% 342

All

‘Ages 3000 & > 35.9% 53
1000-2999 51.7% 116
350-999 52.9% 157
349 & < 55.7% 203
Total 52.0% 529

33



Both questionnaires included items pertaining
to age at entry into Academy training and level
of education. Moreover, the instrument admin-
istered to the 2,352 trainees of 1969 resulted in the
elicitation of detailed information regarding the
types and amounts of aviation experience and
also the ratings held in aviation-related fields.

C. Criteria for Validation of Pre-FAA Ex-
perience. Each subject’s attrition-retention status
for the Academy basic-training phase had been
determined in the earlier studies. The second
major criterion variable was “post-Academy at-
trition-retention status” as of January 1, 1973.
The latter was determined by collating the names
and Social Security numbers of the subjects with
those set forth in magnetic tape records of all
personnel within the FAA who, at the beginning
of 1978, possessed an occupational code of 2152
(denoting the ATCS specialty). Each subject
still within the air traffic control system at that
time was designated as a “post-Academy reten-
tion.” The listing of all remaining and attrited
cases of the CAMI samples was then compared
with the listing of Academy eliminees and each
subject. who was found to have attrited subse-
quent to Academy graduation was designated as
a “post-Academy attrition.”

It was against these criteria that the different
types and amounts of experience and also the
pre-FAA ratings of the ATCSs of 1969 were
validated. As explained earlier, however, most of
the analyses concerning the trainees of the earlier
time period dealt with types, or categories, of
experience and none involved consideration of
pre-FAA ratings, licenses, or certificates.

Procedures were also employed to assess the
interaction effects of age, aptitude, and education
upon. the validities of the different types of ex-
perience, separately and in combination, for pre-
diction of success in the FAA ATC profession—
with success defined as retention within the air
traffic control system as of January 1, 1978.

III. Results and Discussion.

Comparison of ATCS Trainees of 1960-1963
With Those Recruited During 1969
A. Experience Backgrounds of Pre-1964 Group.
Each of the 1,740 ATCSs of the earlier time
period either completed or partially completed
a copy of the biographical questionnaire. A large
proportion of the group failed to provide in-

formation regarding the ratings, licenses, or cer-
tificates held prior to entry into FAA ATC
training and several subjects (none of whom had
previous experience in ATC work) further ne-
glected to indicate the amounts of specific types
of prior experience they possessed.

An examination of the response data revealed
that all but 70 (4.0%) of the 1,740 claimed prior
experience of three months or more as military
controllers, civilian or military pilots, or as spe-
cialists in communications. (For research pur-
poses, experience of less than three months was
disregarded.) Some 24 of the 70 failed to answer
those items relating to aviation experience or
their replies indicated that they had none or less
than three months; only eight of the 24 (33.3%)
were still in FAA ATC work on January 1, 1973.
Thirty-four of the 70 claimed GCI (Ground
Control Intercept) experience and their post-
Academy retention rate was 23.5%. The remain-
ing 12, having either navigator or navigator-
bombardier experience, included eight who failed
basic training and three who attrited after Acad-
emy graduation. The 70 had an overall attrition
rate of 75.7% for all phases of training and
service up to the beginning of 1973. For purposes
of the present study, the 70 were therefore treated
as a single subgroup, whereas all others were
categorized according to the specific area or com-
bination of areas in which they obtained their
aviation-related experience (i.e., pilot, ATC, and/
or communications).

Figure 1 shows the number of subjects in each
of eight mutually exclusive experience categories
and also the percentages of the entire sample of
1,740 represented by the various subgroups. As
may be noted, 12.0% (N=208) entered with “Pilot
Experience Only,” 53.7% (N=934) had “ATC
Experience Only,” and 13.4% (N=234) possessed
“Communications Experience Only.” The four
subgroups, “Pilot With Communications,” “Pilot.
With ATO,” “Pilot With Both ATC and Com-
munications,” and “ATC With Communications”
accounted for percentages of 3.0, 4.8, 1.1, and 8.0,
respectively.

Inasmuch as the issue concerning the validity
of pilot experience was the prime reason for
undertaking the present study, we felt that the
most appropriate manner in which the subgroups
could be combined was as shown in the right-
hand portion of Figure 1. As may be noted, 260


Months of Acade: Post-Academy Retention:
Entry Prior Actritions WS attritions 1 Sanuary 1973
Age _ATC Exp.
ae > 46> PET GZIA \ 42.9%
37 - 48
25 - 36 [50.0% WYK EZAGGQ
2& < 100.0%
\ ~ NY
total WW
36 - 40 49 & > WY)
37 - 48
25 - 36 100.0%
248 < 100.0%
Total \ 25.0% N | 37.5%
31-35 49&> NDR 83.3%
37 - 48 100.0%
25 - 36
246 < 100.0%
ES Z
Total 0.0 90.0
30&< 49&> 75.0%
37 - 48 85.7%
25 - 36 60.0%
24 &< 68.8%
Total 73.4%
All
ages 49 & > 62.1%
37 - 48 80.0%
25 - 36 55.6%
24 & < 75.0%
Total 68.5%

|=
rNON

10

ore Ne

NnONA

12
21
15

16

64

29

25
18
20

92

Fiovre 8, Attrition and retention rates by age and months of prior ATC experience for 92 personnel who entered FAA

ATCS training during 1969 as licensed aircraft pilots also holding pre-FAA rating(s) in ATC work.

22



wi Acadeny W Post-Academy Retentions
Attrition- Attritions 5 Ateritions 1 January 1973
° Retention Ground- Point- Other &/or
Age Percentage to- to~ Station Unspecified
Group Rates Air Point Experi. GCI Experience Total
804
604
31&>
40
20
N Retentions 3 1 1 4 ll
N Post-Acad. Attrs. 1 2 3
N Academy Eliminees 2 1 2 8 13
804
60 4
30 & < r
40
N Retentions 7 6 lo v7 40
N Post-Acad, Attrs. 2 3 8 13
N Academy Eliminees 3 1 8 4
804
60
All Ages
40
204
N Retentions lo 7 ll 21 51
N Post-Acad. Attrs. 2 4 10 16
N Academy Eliminees 5 1 1 16 27

Fioure 11. Attrition and retention rates by age and type of pre-FAA experience for 94 entrants into Academy ATCS
training during 1969 who claimed to possess ratings in communications work only.
claimed a communication rating, 41 failed to specify the type of rating or experience, three claimed to have been
former Flight Data Aids, one responded that he had non-rated ATC experience, another indicated he had worked

in Base Operations, and one claimed air-to-ground communications experience.)

28

(Although each of the 94


(in recent years) demonstrate their ability to
learn ATC work by scoring relatively high on a
battery of aptitude tests.

Tests of mental abilities, or aptitudes, were not
generally used in the selection of personnel for
controller training until 1964. Since that time,
however, most applicants have been screened with
a battery of six tests, covering ATC-related apti-
tudes. The battery, often referred to as the
“CSC ATC Aptitude Screening Test,” and thus
frequently alluded to as if a single instrument,
was validated by the Civil Aeromedical Institute
(CAMI) in experimental studies on trainees re-
cruited during 1962 and 1963.*

Examination with the test battery was manda-
tory for all applicants from January 1964 until
July 1968, with eligibility for training requiring
that those having “qualifying” pre-FAA ATC
experience score at least 210; a score of 225 served
as the screening standard for those rated as pilots,
navigators, dispatchers of aircraft, or in com-
munications or air surveillance, whereas 240 rep-
resented the minimal qualifying score for most
applicants having little or no aviation experience.
The differential aptitude-screening standards in-
volved the use of three score-to-percentile con-
version tables, with a minimum-passing percentile
score of 70 corresponding to 210 on one, 225 on
another, and 240 on the other. In computing the
competitive rating of each subject who passed,
the percentile score was supplemented by points
credited for aviation-related experience. Depend-
ent upon recency and amount, certain types of
ATC experience could warrant up to 15 credit
points and pilot experience as many as 10. Five
additional points were awarded for military serv-
ice from which honorably discharged and an-
other five if wounded while in service. Former
military ATCSs and pilots frequently represented
more than half of the applicants; due to the
differential screening standards, they tended to
experience less difficulty than others in qualify-
ing for training, and they generally constituted
the majority of the candidates ultimately certified
and listed on the CSC Registers—particularly
those having the higher eligibility ratings. More-
over, budgetary limitations severly restricted the
FAA’s recruitment of personnel for ATC train-
ing from January 1964 until the latter part of
1968. Inasmuch as the selection of subjects for
the reduced number of training positions avail-
able each of those years was accomplished on the

basis of competitive ratings, individuals having
neither ATC nor pilot experience always repre-
sented a small minority of the selectees.

In 1968 a rapid expansion of the air traflic con-
trol system was begun. Selection procedures were
modified in August 1968 so that applicants hav-
ing highly specialized ATC experience, partic-
ularly in radar control, could be granted waivers
of the aptitude-screening phase and also be ap-
pointed to training at pay grades (i.e., General
Schedules grades) of GS-9 or higher rather than
the normally prescribed entry grades of GS-7
and lower. Other applicants, including vast
numbers with appreciable experience in ATC
work and/or other aviation-related areas, were
assessed with the test battery and otherwise
screened in accordance with standards very sim-
ilar to those specified for all trainees during the
preceding five years. The “specialized experi-
ence” standard remained in effect until April
1973. Throughout that time, however, less than
one-fourth of the ATC selectees entered as GS-9’s
or higher with waivers of the aptitude-screening
requirement.

As reported in a previous CAMI study,' only
710 (18.9%) of 3,751 subjects who arrived at the
Aeronautical Center during November 1968 and
the ensuing 17 months for basic ATC training
claimed to have entered the FAA as GS-9’s or
higher on the basis of highly specialized ATC
experience. Some 446 of the 710 enrolled in the
Academy’s basic En Route course, while 264
entered the Terminal course. The study revealed
16% of the 446 En Route trainees of GS-9 level
and higher failed to successfully complete the En
Route course and that the attrition rate of the
2,526 who enrolled in the same training course
as GS-7’s or lower was only slightly higher (ie.,
18.2%). Only 14% of the 264 Terminal trainees
recruited with disregard of the aptitude-screen-
ing requirement failed the Terminal course,
whereas a significantly higher (p < .01) elimina-
tion rate of 21.9% was obtained for the remain-
ing 515 Terminal students. However, a more
recent CAMI study* (in which December 1, 1971,
served as a common date for determination of
the attrition-retention status of every student who
sucessfully completed either En Route or Ter-
minal basic training at the Academy during 1969)
indicated that the trainees selected under the
specialized-experience standard had _ slightly
higher post-Academy attrition rates than those


D. Attrition and Retention Rates by Ewperi-
ence Category for 2352 ATCSs of 1969. Figure
4, the format of which corresponds to that of
Figure 8, presents attrition and retention data
for the entrants into ATCS training during 1969.
However, it should be re-emphasized that. we were
unable to employ the same criteria in dividing
the two samples into experience subgroups. Un-
like the subjects comprising the earlier sample,
those of 1969 were categorized on the basis of
ratings or licenses they held at time of entry into
FAA training as aircraft pilots and/or in ATC
work or communications. A meaningful com-
parison of the results depicted by the two figures
is also thwarted by implications arising from
differences between the screening-and-selection.
standards in effect during the widely separated
stime periods. For example, the screening of
medically qualified applicants for ATCS train-
ing prior to 1964 focused upon assessments of
ATC-related experience, whereas the majority
of the ATCSs of 1969 were selected from candi-
dates who, aside from experience qualifications,
had been screened with the CSC ATC Aptitude
Test Battery. Moreover, it is doubtful that such
a time lapse failed to be accompanied by changes
in either the training-performance evaluation cri-
teria or the post-Academy retention standards.

In examining the Academy attrition rates
shown. in Figure 4 for the ATCSs of 1969, it
should be noted that, exclusive of the rate per-
taining to the three subjects from whom no back-
ground information was collected, the highest
rate was 29.6% for the 71 who entered with pilot
ratings only. Highly comparable rates of 28.7
and 28.2%, respectively, were obtained for the
94 having communications ratings only and the
706 non-rated subjects. (As may be recalled, 239
of the 706 claimed limited experience, but no
ratings, in the ATC, pilot, and communications
fields; and, the 239 included only 19 non-rated
pilots and only 22 having non-rated ATC ex-
perience.) Some 23.8% of the 458 having both
pilot and communications ratings failed to com-
plete the basic training phase. All differences
between the rates of the four subgroups. just
mentioned were statistically insignificant.

Inasmuch as there were only 11 pilots who’

also claimed ATC ratings, their Academy attri-
tion rate of 18.2% could not be reliably compared
with that of any other subgroup. However, the

13

elimination rates of the three remaining sub-
groups, comprised of subjects having ATC ratings
only or in combination with pilot and/or com-
munications ratings, were even lower and, in
every instance, proved to be significantly (p<.05)
different from each of the four highest-ranked
rates cited above. Of 849 subjects who entered
with ATC ratings only, 13.6% failed to graduate
from basic training and the same was true with
respect to 12.7% of the 79 who possessed both
ATC and communications ratings. Although not
significantly different from either of the latter,
the Academy attrition rate for the 81 subjects
rated in all three of the basic aviation-related
areas was only 8.6%.

The lower portion of Figure 4 presents the
results of the summary analysis in which the
1969 sample was divided into only four experience
subgroups: “Rated Pilots With No ATC Rat-
ings,” “Rated Pilots With ATC Ratings,” “Non-
Pilots With ATC Ratings,” and “Subjects With
No ATC Or Pilot Rating.” (As explained ear-
lier, communications experience was purposely
disregarded.) The Academy elimination rate for
the 529 pilots who had no ATC ratings was
24.6%, only slightly (insignificantly) lower than
the percentage of 28.4 pertaining to the 803 sub-
jects devoid of both pilot and ATC ratings. How-
ever, contrastingly lower (p<.01) Academy attri-
tion rates were obtained for the two remaining
subgroups. Of the 928 non-pilot subjects who
held ATC ratings, 13.5% failed to successfully
complete basic training and the corresponding
attrition rate for the 92 having both pilot and
ATC ratings was only 9.8%.

The Academy attrition rates of the differen-
tially experienced subgroups of 1969 follow a pat-
tern highly similar to that reflected in Figure 3
for the ATCSs of 1960-1963. The results suggest:
that all types of experience other than ATC work
were of little value to the subjects during basic
training. Although not shown in any table or
figure of this report, an Academy attrition rate of
13.1% was obtained for the 1,020 ATCSs of 1969
who held ATC ratings solely or in combination
with pilot and/or communications ratings. The
corresponding rate for all remaining (1,332)
ATCSs of 1969 was 26.9%, more than twice that
of the 1,020. When the 1960-1963 sample was
dichotomized on the same basis, it was determined
that 16.4% of the 1,176 having ATC experience



cants no older than 30. Although not specifically
indicated, the 934 include 128, or over 75%, of
the 171 among the 1,073 who failed to success-
fully complete Academy basic training. Yet, the
128 represented only 13.7% of the 934; their
failure rate was slightly lower than the 14.5%
rate obtained for the 69 subjects with ages rang-
ing from 81 to 35.

Academy attrition rates were also inversely
related to level, or amount, of pre-entry ATC
experience but to a much lesser extent than
chronological age. Moreover, the data suggest
that the benefits associative with increasingly
greater amounts of experience tended to be over-
ridden by adverse aging effects, beginning at
about age 36. For the ATCSs of age 30 and
younger, the Academy attrition rates ranged pro-
gressively upward from 11.0% for the 227 hay-
ing ATC experience of 49 months or more to
24.0% for the 75 claiming 24 months or less. Cor-
responding rates for the 69 ATCSs aged 31 to 35
followed a similar pattern, ranging from 5.9%
to 28.6%. For the remaining and older sub-
groups, the Academy elimination rates are con-
trastingly higher and reflect no relationship to
level of ATC experience.

The post-Academy retention rates shown in
Figure 5 for the 1,073 ATO-experienced recruits
of 1960-1963 provide little insight regarding the
possible influence of age or prior ATC experience
upon success in the profession (with success de-
fined as retention) because the rates were com-
puted on the basis of Academy entrants, rather
than graduates. Although not shown, retention
rates were also calculated for the Academy
graduates only. The resulting percentages, pro-
ceeding from the oldest to the youngest of the
subgroups, were 33.3, 60.7, 72.9, and 80.1. While
these data attest to aging effects beyond the basic
training phase, and particularly for subjects over
40 years old, such effects are not nearly as pro-
nounced as those which occurred during basic
training.

Moreover, there appeared to be no trend or
pattern in the retention rates of the differentially
aged Academy graduates with respect to level
of prior ATC experience. For example, the re-
tention rates of personnel of age 30 and younger
who successfully completed basic training were:

17

78.9% for those having previous ATC experi-
ence of 24 months or less; 77.8 for those with 25
to 36 months; 82.2 for the next most experienced
subgroup; and 78.2% for those claiming more
than 48 months. The rates of corresponding sub-
groups of other age categories fluctuated in much
the same manner, providing no evidence of any
relationship whatsoever between level of prior
ATC ecaperience and success beyond Academy
basic training. Even the most highly experienced
of the older subjects had unusually high Acad-

emy-attrition rates.

Figure 6 presents the attrition and retention
rates by age and level of ATC experience for the
928 non-pilot ATCSs of 1969 who held ATC
ratings at time of entry into training. The re-
sults comprise a body of findings similar in many
respects to those obtained in the corresponding
analysis (discussed immediately above) for the
1,073 non-pilot ATC-experienced personnel re-
cruited during 1960-1963. However, the age
effects pertaining to the ATCSs of the more re-
cent time period are even more pronounced than
those obtained for the former. In examining the
Academy attrition rates of these subjects by age
category, and irrespective of experience level, it
should be noted that the lowest of the rates per-
tained to the 715 of age 30 and younger. Pro-
gressively higher rates of 21.5, 27.6, and 43.2%
were obtained for the subjects of the age cate-
gories 31-35, 36-40, and 41 and older. The dis-
parity between the attrition rates of the 715
youngest ATCSs and those 31 to 35 years old
(i.e., 9.1% vs. 21.5%) was unexpected in view of
the previous finding of highly comparable rates
of 13.7 and 14.5% for the two youngest subgroups
of the 1960-1963 sample. The subgroup of 715
ATCSs of age 30 and younger represented 77%
of the 928 non-pilot ATC-rated personnel re-
eruited during 1969 and included 65 (52%. of
the 125 Academy attritions among the 928. Yet,
the 65 represented only 9.1% of the 715, whereas
the Academy attrition rate (not shown) for the
remaining 213 subjects of age 31 and older was
28.2%. These data impressively support the
FAA’s current policy of selecting all ATCS
trainees from qualified applicants no older than
30.



AIRCRAFT-PILOT AND OTHER PRE-EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
AS FACTORS IN THE SELECTION OF AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROLLER TRAINEES

I. Introduction.

Numerous revisions have been made during the
last 15 years in the methods and standards with
which personnel are selected for training as Air
Traffic Control Specialists (ATCSs) with the
Federal Aviation Administration. In many re-
spects, however, current screening procedures are
remarkably similar to those of the past. One of
the most traditional and relatively unchanged
policies concerns the evaluation and weighting of
previous aviation-related experience (e.g., as an
aircraft pilot, navigator, military ATCS, in com-
munications work, air surveillance, etc.) in estab-
lishing the eligibility ratings of medically quali-
fied applicants. The present study was under-
taken in order to examine the validities of the
various types of aviation-oriented experience,
separately and in combination, for prediction of
success in ATC work—with success defined as re-
tention status within the air traffic control (ATC)
system several years after entry into training.

A. ATCS Selection and Recruiting History.
Eligibility for ATCS training within the FAA
has always been restricted to those applicants
who, after having met other qualification require-
ments, satisfactorily pass a rigid medical exam-
ination, The current physical fitness standards
are much like those of the past and continue to
closely parallel those prescribed for a commercial
pilot rating (i.e., a Second Class Airman Medical
Certificate). However, the procedures relating
to medical certification of ATCS personnel were
amended in 1966 to include consideration of per-
sonality attributes. Since that time, Cattell’s
Sixteen Personality Factor (P. F.) Question-
naire? has been used in the screening of all ap-
plicants. Physiologically qualified individuals
for whom the P. F. Questionnaire results indi-

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance in data by
analyses by Steven Greer and Barbara Rizzuti.

cate no significant emotional or mental problems
are granted medical certification. Others, who
usually represent but a small minority of the
applicants, must submit to a psychiatric exam-
ination, the results of which may constitute
grounds for ineligibility. Moreover, under the
standards in effect since April 1973, all applicants
of age 31 and older are automatically disqualified
for basic training in either En Route or Terminal
control procedures. The maximum age limit of
80 does not apply to Flight Service Station
(FSS) personnel.

The eligibility ratings prescribed for use by
the U.S. Civil Service Commission (CSC) in the
competitive selection of candidates have always
included (and, prior to 1964, were restricted to)
consideration of each applicant’s pre-employment
experience, his educational background, and the
outcomes of an interview with management
officials, The methods and standards for evalua-
tion of experience have varied from time to time
but all have been predicated, at least in part, on
the assumption that almost any type of aviation
experience should be positively related to success
in ATCS training. Inasmuch as previous experi-
ence in air traffic control (usually acquired in
military service) has always been considered a
prime asset, it has consistently been heavily
weighted, directly or indirectly, in the selection
process. Other types of aviation experience tradi-
tionally regarded as important, but not -weighted
as heavily as ATC work, include experience as
an aircraft pilot (particularly if instrument
rated), licensed navigator, certified dispatcher of
aircraft, or as a specialist in communications or
air surveillance work. Applicants not having
aviation-oriented backgrounds have usually been
required to have either a (four-year) college de-
gree or at least three years of “general” experi-
ence of a progressively responsible nature in
administrative, technical, or other work, and/or



Acadeny NS Post~Academy Retentions
Pre-FAA Age Attritions & Attritions 1 January 1973
Experience Group En Route Trainees NL
ATC Exp. 31 & > 51.9% 131
ac IFR &< B 1.8 312
Facility 30 71.8%
All Ages 65.9% 443
ATC Exp. 31 & > 143.77) 32
at VFR .
my 208 < IKCEN zs
All Ages WERASS 236
No Rated 931 & > % 385,
ATC Exps 59 & < 791
All Ages 1176
ATC Exp. 52
at IFR
Facility 158
210
ATC Exp. 26
at VFR
Facility 105
131
No Rated 39
ATC Exp. 23.7% : 114
30.7% 153
Combined Air Route and Terminal Trainees
ATC Exp. 31 & > 21.3% 26 2. WY 52.5% 183
at IFR y
Facility 20 &< 16.0% 77.4% 470
All Ages [{10. 18.8% 70.5% 653
ATC Exp. 31 & > 3.17, 25.9% 31.0% 58
at VER 30&< [2.9 214% 66.0%
Facility = Jar - 309
ALL Ages [MMI7.4 22.1% 60.5% 367
No Rated 31 8> EY 24. 1Z WN 35.6% 424
ATC Exp. 30 & < 20.47 19.6% 60.0% 905
All Ages 26.81) 21 OL WY 52.2% | 1329

Fievre 10. Attrition and retention rates by training option, type of pre-FAA ATC experience, and age for 2,349
entrants into the Academy’s basic training courses in 1969.

26







experience for which credit is currently given in
selecting ATC candidates.

Personnel having only pilot experience when
they entered ATCS training during either of
the two widely separated time periods had un-
usually low retention rates, even lower than those
of groups having no aviation-related experience
of any type. Speculation that many of the pilot-
rated subjects may have volitionally attrited
in order to take jobs of higher pay or jobs more
compatible with their flying interests, prompted
a search of ADP records of all FAA employees;
only 14 of the 254 attrited pilot-rated ATCSs
of 1969 were still in the FAA (in non-ATC
jobs) at the beginning of 1973, Six of the 14
were aviation safety officers, five of whom were
GS-12’s; one was a GS-12 in an educational
training program, and the other seven were in

various jobs (e.g., electronics technicians, flight
data aids, wage board employees, clerks, etc.) with
lower pay grades. Unfortunately, data were un-
available for a similar follow-up study of the
remaining 240 attrited pilots who had left the
FAA.

Although ATC experience involving VFR op-
erations only proved to be considerably less valid
than ATC-IFR experience for prediction of
success in either En Route or Terminal options,
experience of each respective type appeared to be
almost equally valid for the two options. It
would therefore seem desirable, when possible,
to select all En Route and Terminal trainees from
among the best qualified of the aptitude-screened
candidates younger than 31 who possess pre-FAA
IFR control experience.

References

e

. Air Traffic Controller Career Committee Report:
The Career of the Air Traffic Controller—A Course
of Action. Executive Summary of the Report of the
Air Traffic Controller Career Committee. FAA,
Washington, D.C., January 1970.
Cattell, R. B., and H, W. Eber: The Sixteen Per-
sonality Factor Questionnaire, Champaign, Illinois:
Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, 1962.
8. Cobb, B. B.: The Relationships Between Chrono-
logical Age, Length of Experience, and Job Perform-
ance Ratings of Air Route Traffic Control Specialists.
FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Report No. AM-67-1,
1967.
Cobb, B. B.: Air Traffic Aptitude Test Measures of
Military and FAA Controller Trainees. FAA Office
of Aviation Medicine Report No. AM-71-40, 1971.
5. Cobb, B. B., C. D. Lay, and N, M. Bourdet: The
Relationship Between Chronological Age and Apti-
tude Test Measures of Advanced-Level Air Traffic
Control Trainees. FAA Office of Aviation Medicine
Report No. AM-71-36, 1971.
6. Cobb, B. B., and J. J. Mathews: A Proposed New
Test for Aptitude Screening of Air Traffic Controller
Applicants. FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Report
No, AM-72-18, 1972.
Cobb, B. B., J. J. Mathews, and C. D, Lay: A Com-
parative Study of Female and Male Air Traffic Con-
troller Trainees. FAA Office of Aviation Medicine
Report No. AM-72-22, 1972.
. Cobb, B. B., J. J. Mathews, and Peter L, Nelson;
Attrition-Retention Rates of Air Traffic Control
Trainees Recruited During 1960-1963 and 1968-1970.

wv

»

a

~

FAA Office of Aviation Medicine Report No. AM-72~
33, 1972.

9. Education and Public Affairs, Inc. Report: Review
and Evaluation of Present System for Selection of
Air Traffic Controllers, Summary of Research on
Phase I, Task I of Contract DOT-FAT0WA-~2371.
FAA, Washington, D. C., July 1970.

10, Trites, D, K.: Problems in Air Traffic Management:
I. Longitudinal Prediction of Effectiveness of Air
‘Traffic Controllers. FAA Civil Aeromedical Research
Institute Report No. 61-1, 1961.

11. Trites, D, K.: Problems in Air Traffic Management:
VI. Interaction of Training-Entry Age With Intellec-
tual and Personality Characteristies of Air Traffic
Control Specialists. FAA Office of Aviation Medicine
Report No. AM-65-21, 1965.

12, Trites, D. K., and B, B, Cobb: Problems in Air Traffle
Management: III. Implications of Age for Training
and Job Performance of Air Traffic Controllers. FAA
Civil Aeromedical Research Institute Report No.
62-8, 1962.

18. Trites, D. K., and B, B, Cobb: Problems in Air Traffic
Management: IV. Comparisons of Pre-Employment,
Job-Related Experience With Aptitude Tests as Pre-
dictors of Training and Job Performance of Air
‘Traffic Control Specialists. FAA Civil Aeromedical
Research Institute Report No, 63-81, 1963.

14, Trites, D. K., and B. B. Cobb: CARI Research on
Air Traffic Control Specialists: Age, Aptitude, and
Experience as Predictors of Performance, FAA Civil
Aeromedical Research Institute, unnumbered report,
1964.



—

attr,
Categories N's
of Pre-FAA Acad. ON Academy Post-Acadetty Retentions
_Experience  PrAc. Rety MM eiininees LQ acertetons (2) 1 san. 1973 N

Pilot Experience 100 Cy

Only 60 48 48.1%) WRK 23.1% 208
EN

Pilot With 27 N

Commnications 13 12 51.9% N: N 23.1% 52

N

Pilot With 16 WS S |

Pre-FAA ATC Exp. 33 35 | exp WORX \ 41.7% 84

Pilot With Both 6

ATC & Coum. 7 ED WCW RW) 31.6% 19

ATC Experience 133 N

only 168 633 | LEN 67.8% 936

ATC With 38

Communications 25 76 EN 54.7% 139

| a> BW

Communications 113 SS

Experience Only 29 WR 39.3% 234

No ATC, Pilot, 42 |

Nor Comm, Exp. 11 17 (60.07) Ni 24.3% 70
S

Total 127 N

With Pilot Exp. 73 60 28.1% 23.1% 260

But No ATC Exp. WON

Total 22 WOO

With Both Pilot 40 4. 21.4% 38.8% 39.8% 103
and ATC Exp, SS

Total 71

Non-Pilots 193 709 #M15.979N18.0% 66.1% 1073
With ATC Exp.

Total Subjects 155
Having Neither 40 109 51.0%) 13.2 35.9% 304
Pilot Nor ATC SS

Total 475
Sample 346 «(919 19.9% 52.8% 1740

Ficure 3. Attrition and retention rates by pre-FAA experience category for 1,740 entrants into the Academy's En
Route and Terminal basic training courses during September 1960 through August 1963.

1



Nonths of .
Academy Sy Post-Academy Retentions
Encry Prior ateritions KY atcricions L January 1973 y
Age _AIC Exp. Ne
41&> 49 &> 20.0% 15
37 = 48 2
25 - 36 WIE Wh
Wwe< 3
NY)
Total WERAW 13.6% | 22
36 - 40 49 &>
37 - 48
25 - 36
Wee
Total
31-35 49 &> 64.7% 34
37 - 48 66.7% 15
25 - 36 53.8% 13
we < 57.1% 7
Total 62.3% 69
30&< 49 &> 69.6% 227
37 - 48 72.2% 449
25 - 36 65.0% 183
we < 00.0% 75
Total 69.2% 934
Anes 49 & > 63.5% 310
37 = 48 Tile an
25 - 36 62.9% 202
we < 55.6% 90
Total 66.1% 1073

Ficure 5. Attrition and retention rates by age and months of prior ATC experience for 1,073 personnel who entered
FAA ATCS training during September 1960 through August 1963 with pre-FAA experience in ATC work but
not licensed as aircraft pilots.

16