Almost 25% fail Army exam

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

A study of applicants who took the Army’s entrance exams found that nearly one-fourth failed.

The five-year study by the Education Trust looked at about 350,000 applicants, all high school graduates ages 17 to 24. The test, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, measures basic math, science and reading skills.

Minorities fared especially poorly, with 39 percent of blacks and 29 percent of Hispanics failing compared with 16 percent of whites.

A passing score for the Army is 31 out of a possible 99. The Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard require higher scores from their recruits. The Education Trust said its report,“Shut Out of the Military,” “shatters the comfortable myth that academically underprepared students can find a place in the military.”

Scripps Howard News Service