Understanding ASVAB Scores

Scores on the individual ASVAB subtests are reported as Standard Scores.

Standard Scores are scores that have a meaning relative to a national sample of youth aged 18 to 23. About half the population scores at or above a Standard Score of 50 and about 16% of the population scores at or above a Standard Score of 60.

Examinees also receive a score on what is called the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT).

AFQT scores are computed using the Standard Scores from four ASVAB subtests: Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), and Word Knowledge (WK).

AFQT scores are reported as percentiles between 1-99. An AFQT percentile score indicates the percentage of examinees in a reference group that scored at or below that particular score. For current AFQT scores, the reference group is a sample of 18 to 23 year old youth who took the ASVAB as part of a national norming study conducted in 1997. Thus, an AFQT score of 90 indicates that the examinee scored as well as or better than 90% of the nationally-representative sample of 18 to 23 year old youth. An AFQT score of 50 indicates that the examinee scored as well as or better than 50% of the nationally-representative sample.

AFQT scores are divided into categories, as shown in the table below.