Technical Report - International Military Testing Association

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Screening byppasa cpecfalloc~. The use of the SKT for the identification
of bypass specialists is ohe of these goals. A recruit, &IO has sme ~acialty
backgourd derived from civilian ocoupational experfencc or schooling or fros
prior military service, azy t&e the SKI to ascertain his qunlificntion in the
spec‘lal ty. Cm passing, he is svarded the smtskflfed rating,. Every year the
bypass-specialist program yields significant savircge in term of cfrc-umented
trainfug costs.
Hotivatinq study. There is another goal of the SKT progrran that brings Lt
into an affinitive relationship with the training program. This goal is i-licit
in the publication of study reference lists for the guidance of alrum in preparation
for specialty testing. The effect is to motivate study on the part of the
airman-to kindle his urge to acquire the technical knowledge that is considered
crucial to his successful pcrfo,rmance on the job and to his long-range career
development.
Lrpact on Iraining. As a consequence, preparation for the test become big
businese. &my people get into the act at all levclo. Training program go
into high gear. Tne impact upon training is felt throughout the Air Force, but
nowhere is it felt more acutely than at the Air Training timand, In turn, the
latter undertakes to produce training standard,0 and job informtion for b.ir Porte
publication. r;ot only are these made available to tha traLnee for his use in
preparation for the test, but they ate also adopted by the XT progrfun for input
to the test-construction process.
A r.c*~ epproach to CUT. A noteworthy outcome of the interaction between trainin;>.
and evaluation has been the recent adoption by the Air Force of the dualchannel
concept of on-the-job training. This approach to CUT. provides for the
synchronous development of the airmen’s cereer, on the one hand, and his job proficiency
on the other. The end product of one of these training chaonels is the
Career Development Couree (CCC), which is a self-study course geared to the
aiman’s specialty for his use in preparing for the next higher skill level.
Since it is a self-contained peckage of career specialty information on fundamentals
and basic principles, the CDC is a welcome source reference for use in
SKT construction. Thus has the SKT fulfilled itself, in part, through ite
salutary *act on training.
The isaue of fndependant evaluation, So salutary, in fact, has bean the
two-way interaction between training and evaluation that, for practical purposes,
a sort of symbiotic relationship has emerged betveen the two. The intimacy of
this relationship has been the subject of considerable interpretation and, possibly,
overinterpretation.
-I_ The ca6e against. One strongly voiced interpretation holda that evaluation
should be an integral part of training. Accordfng to this view, the SKT program
would logically be assigned to the Air Training Cormmnd. It ie maintained that
the closest possible coordination 1s needed to effect greater efficiency and
economy of test production. Such a wedding would eupposedly enhance the mutually
supporting relatfonehip between the two functions. Thus a higher degree of mutual
responsiveness would become possible In a more intimate association.
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