2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

egression equation. The process was repeated using minority status and ASTB academic and
flight scores as predictor variables and primary NSS as the criterion variable.
Race information on each student came from questionnaires completed when the
candidates begin the aviation pipeline using selected codes. Based upon student answers, a three
digit alphanumeric code containing sex, race, and ethnic classifications was entered in the
database. Candidates for this study were divided according to their race codes: white or minority.
The performance databases contain grade point information on each subject. The grade
point represents a student’s performance in flight or simulator events. An academic average is
also stored in the system. This raw information is used to compute a Naval Standardized Score.
A NSS of 50 is assigned to the mean, and a score above or below 50 correspondingly describes
performance above or below the mean for a particular area, such as academic, simulator, or flight
grades. Grades are awarded according to criteria specified in CNATRA Instruction 1500.4F.
The data was compiled in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Males were assigned a value of
0 and females a value of 1. Students identified as non-minority were given a 0. All minorities
received a 1. The population’s academic, flight, and simulator means were then computed. The
means and standard deviations were used to compute academic, flight, and simulator NSS using
the following formula: NSS = ((x-mean)/std dev) * 10 + 50. An overall NSS was finally
computed by weighing the individual NSS. Using the overall NSS as the criterion variable, the
study first determined how well ASTB academic scores predict primary performance using
multiple regression using Microsoft Excel. AQR scores were entered as the first variable, and
FAR scores were the second variable. The process was repeated adding minority status as a third
variable to determine if minority status predicts beyond ASTB scores. Finally, multiple
regression was done by adding sex. For this study, minority status was set to 1 and non-minority
status to 0, and sexual status of male was set to 0 and female to 1.
RESULTS
Primary phase of training simulator, academic, and flight grades were converted to a NSS
and then combined into an overall NSS. For comparison, NSS scores were also calculated for
AQR and FAR. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the NSS scores for the groups in these two studies.
Table 1
NSS Summary for Pilot Candidates
Group Data NSS
Male Caucasians Average of AQRnss 50.90
Average of PFARnss 51.00
Average of Overall Primary Training 50.50
Minority Average of AQRnss 43.33
Average of PFARnss 43.96
Average of Overall Primary Training 45.60
Female Average of AQRnss 43.50
Average of PFARnss 41.80
Average of Overall Primary Training 46.40
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003