Title: Schooling and the AFQT
Description: "Is the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) a measure of achievement or ability?  The answer to this question is critical for drawing inferences from studies in  which it is employed.  In this paper, we test for a relationship between  schooling and AFQT performance in the NLSY 79 by comparing test-takers with  birthdays near state cutoff dates for school entry.  We instrument for schooling  at the test date with academic cohort&#151;the year in which an individual  should have entered first grade&#151;in a model that allows age at the test  date to have a direct effect on AFQT performance.  This identification strategy  reveals large impacts of schooling on the AFQT performance of racial  minorities, providing support for the hypothesis that the AFQT measures school  achievement"--Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia web site.
Subjects: Armed Forces, Examinations
Places: United States