Title: Occupational learning difficulty
Subtitle: A Standard for determining the order of aptitude requirement minimums
Description: Entry into Air Force enlisted job specialties is largely governed by aptitude requirements. Specification of such requirements involves two separate decisions: an aptitude type (i.e., the mechanical, electronics, general, or administrative aptitude index of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is identified; then, a minimum level of aptitude (i.e., percentile score cutoff) is determined. Although identification of the appropriate aptitude type is relatively straightforward, determination of the aptitude minimum is complicated by several considerations. This research studied the need for a quantitative method for determining percentile score cutoffs. A method for determining aptitude minimums based on occupational survey information is described. For job specialties having a common aptitude requirement type, measures of occupational learning difficulty are proposed as a frame of reference for determining the order of aptitude minimums. Rather than representing how difficult a task is to perform, a measure of occupational learning difficulty for a given specialty represents how much time it takes to learn to perform associated tasks. It is recommended that percentile score cutoffs be established so that the order of the cutoffs corresponds to the order of specialties in terms of occupational learning difficulty. Assuming high-aptitude enlistees learn faster than low-aptitude enlistees, the recommended procedure will ensure that job specialties which require the most time to learn are manned by enlistees who learn the fastest.
Subjects: Ability, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, Job analysis, Testing