Triggers for ASVAB Confirmation Test
For some time now I have been getting email questions regarding the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), specifically about the confirmation test and what is it about. I answered each question confidentially and tailored the answer to the individual, I will continue to do that, but those questions prompted me to put the regulation into, hopefully, an understandable way. So here it goes! (Remember, the AFQT score is what is used to indicate your aptitude for service; it is not, by itself, the score used to determine what Navy job you may qualify for - that is what the ASVAB line scores are used for.)
Confirmation testing applies to any person who was given a retest on any version of the (ASVAB) whose ASVAB score increased 20 AFQT points or more than their previous test score, and the two tests are taken within 6 months of each other, they are required to take the confirmation test. If 6 months passed from the date of the retest then the confirmation test is not required no matter what the AFQT point increase may have been. The rule applies regardless if it was an enlistment or a student ASVAB when deciding if a confirmation retest is required.
Confirmation testing cannot be given at a school or MET site, it will only be conducted in the MEPS, and it is a full version containing all sections of the ASVAB.
If you fall into the above rule, and you complete a confirmation test, your AFQT from the confirmation test must be compared to the previous test. If your confirmation test AFQT is higher than the AFQT from the previous test, or the AFQT from the confirmation test does not decrease by more than half the value of the retest's gain, then you have met the required criteria for a successful confirmation test. The results from the test that made you take the confirmation test in the first place becomes the score you will use for enlistment, not the confirmation test score.
If your confirmation ASVAB test AFQT goes down more than half of your initial point increase (retest AFQT minus previous test AFQT), you failed the Confirmation Test.
Example (1); If you got a 33 AFQT on the first test and two months later you take a retest and score a 59 AFQT. Because the test was within 6 months the 26 point increase of your AFQT will require you to take a confirmation test (unless you wait 6 more months). If on the confirmation test you scored a 45 AFQT which is 14 points less than the retest AFQT (greater than half of the 26 point increase) - you have failed the Confirmation test.
Example (2); If you score a 60QT on your retest after scoring a 35QT within six months, you trigger a Confirmation Test. The Confirmation Test is a full ASVAB test, and will be a version with different questions. If those scores you mentioned are accurate, you have a total score difference of 25 points — you have to score better than half of that increase (12.5 points). So, to pass the Confirmation Test, you would need to score a 48QT (35+12.5=48 rounded up from 47.5). If you pass the Confirmation Test, your 60QT would be your score of record; if you do not pass, your 35QT will be your score of record. The next time you can take the ASVAB test afer the Confirmation Test is six months from the date of the Confirmation Test.
If you are required to take the Confirmation ASVAB Test, you will no longer be allowed to take the pencil and paper ASVAB tests. If you decide not to take the Confirmation Test, then after the 6 month minimum wait post the test that triggered the confirmation requirement, you may voluntarily retest at the MEPS only. Or, you may process using your last valid test score if it meets the minimum standard for the service you are applying (the score that prompted the confirmation test would not be a valid test unless you did take the confirmation test to make it valid).
The Confirmation Test process is not the same as a Verification Test process used to certify the PiCAT ASVAB.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask questions!
Page written and maintained by NCCM Thomas Goering, USN (Retired).
If you are seeking information about joining the Navy, feel free to contact me.