I__. - International Military Testing Association

Parallel Tracks
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Given the general desire for a swift remedy to the manpower management difficulties,
the development and execution of a comprehensive R & D program to address the issues
raised by changing the Army’s recruiting, enlisting, and training systems was simply not
feasible. Therefore, two tracks have been devised for the JSERT concept.
Track One. The key feature of this track is that it is driven by practical considcrtltiorls.
In order to put the JSERT concept into practice as quickly as possible, jobs can be formed
into sets based on “face validity”. A primary concern is to minimize disruption to the CNF
structure, and to take into account logistic, training and cost considerations. Therefvre, at _
least the initial job groupings would involve MOS that currently use the sanie aptitude are:\
composites and cut scores, have the same proponents and are trained in the same loution.
The candidate MOS identified at the key players meeting represent a key milestone of
the Track One effort. The candidate MOS have been circulated among the appropriate
proponents for review and comment. Their input will be used to make the final
determination of job sets for the testbed implementation.
Track Two. While Track One is getting under way, the Track Two efforts have begun.
Track Two efforts form an empirical, applied research program characterized by three
primary features: 1) Within job set validity confirmation, 2) Classification battery
selection, and 3) System appraisal/feedback.
The job set validity confirmation consists of developing analytic tools or models to
determine the fit of jobs with any given set. For example, attribute (skill/ability) or job task
taxonomies can be used by individuals familiar with the jobs to provide “job profiles” ( e.g.,
identification of the tasks making up a job and their importance or criticality). These
profiles can then be compared across jobs and a judgement made as to the acceptability of
the similarities or dissimilarities. If the profiles of the jobs appear too dissimilar or if one
job stands out as too different from the other jobs then there would be a basis for
eliminating some job(s) from the set.
The job descriptions or profiles described above can also be used to help the Army
identify additional classification tests. The elements of the profiles can be linked to tests
of individual abilities (i.e., predictor tests). The tests may then be used to help place (or
classify) individuals into jobs where they are most likely to perform well.
In fact, as part of Project A, the Army’s comprehensive project to improve the selection
and classification system, a new battery of predictor tests was developed. So now, in
addition to ASVAB which measures primarily cognitive ability, the Army has the
opportunity to assess an individual’s spatial and psychomotor abilities, temperament and
vocational interests. The additional information provided by these tests can help the Arm>
make better use of its human resources by improving the match between a soldier’s abili tics
and the job’s requirements.
For this part of the JSERT program, research will be conducted to develop a
methodology for building tailored classification batteries. These special batteries would
be used for assigning soldiers within a job set to a particular job. The first requirement,
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