OAR or ASTB-E: which one you take
The Navy's page: "The Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) is the primary test used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in the selection of officer aviation program applicants." Three of its subtests "comprise the Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR), which is used for certain non-aviation officer programs."
"Individuals applying for aviation programs should take the entire ASTB-E battery. Individuals applying for other programs (e.g., Navy OCS) may only be required to take the OAR portion, but individuals should talk to their recruiters or program administrators for more information."
Each service's own test is on the officer aptitude tests by branch page.
What is on the ASTB-E
| Subtest | What the Navy says it measures | OAR |
|---|---|---|
| Math Skills Test (MST) | Apply mathematical processes to solve equations; understand basic concepts related to arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis | Yes |
| Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) | Extract information from text passages; analyze written information and form logical conclusions | Yes |
| Mechanical Comprehension Test (MCT) | Perceive and understand the nature of physical relationships; solve practical problems related to mechanical principles | Yes |
| Aviation and Nautical Information Test (ANIT) | Recall terminology and concepts relevant to Naval service and aviation | No |
| Naval Aviation Trait Facet Inventory (NATFI) | A personality questionnaire; the list of traits is proprietary | No |
| Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM) | Spatial orientation, dichotic listening, tracking tasks with a stick-and-throttle set, and several of these at the same time | No |
A Biographical Inventory with Response Verification is completed separately, on the examinee's own time; the Navy says it has "no correct or incorrect responses."
The scores
| Score | What it predicts | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) | Academic performance in Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS) | 20 to 80 in one point increments |
| Academic Qualifications Rating (AQR) | Academic performance in Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) and primary phase ground school | 1 to 9 stanine |
| Pilot Flight Aptitude Rating (PFAR) | Primary flight performance for Student Naval Aviators (SNAs) | 1 to 9 stanine |
| Flight Officer Aptitude Rating (FOFAR) | Primary flight performance for Student Naval Flight Officers (SNFOs) | 1 to 9 stanine |
"Examinees that take only the OAR portion will receive only one score." On the OAR, "most examinees obtain scores between 40 and 60, while very few individuals obtain scores at the upper and lower extremes of the score range." The Navy does not publish how the scores are computed: the formulas "are proprietary information and will not be released by NMOTC."
How the real test behaves
- It adapts. The math, reading, mechanical and aviation subtests "are administered in computer adaptive format": "Correct responses are typically followed by more difficult items, and incorrect responses are typically followed by items of a lesser difficulty."
- No going back: "the adaptive nature of these tests prevents examinees from skipping items, or revisiting or changing previous answers on these subtests."
- Work quickly, do not guess at random. Too few answers before time expires "may have a penalty applied," but "random guessing will, in most cases, be more detrimental to scores than the penalty received for not completing the entire test."
- No calculator: "the math problems on the exam are designed to be completed without the use of a calculator, but relevant formulas are provided."
- Three attempts. "Examinees are entitled to no more than three attempts," a retest only "after 30 full calendar days," and the most recent attempt is the score of record even when an earlier one was higher.
The original practice versions
Versions A, B, C in the practice test above are this site's own questions, written in the style of each subtest so there is more to practice on than the Navy's 38 samples. They are not real ASTB-E questions, and the Navy did not write or review them. No question is repeated between versions, and none is taken from the Navy's samples or from a prep book. A result is a count of correct answers, not an OAR score.
| Subtest | Questions per version | Timed |
|---|---|---|
| Math Skills Test | 30 | 25:00 |
| Reading Comprehension Test | 27 | 25:00 |
| Mechanical Comprehension Test | 30 | 15:00 |
| Aviation and Nautical Information Test | 30 | 15:00 |
- Length and clock. The ASTB-E is adaptive, so the Navy publishes no fixed number of questions for it. These versions use the lengths and time limits of the last fixed-form ASTB, from the overview published by Marine Corps Officer Selection.
- Not adaptive. Every person who takes a version gets the same questions, and inside a subtest you can go back. The real test does neither.
- Levels. Easier and Harder take only the questions of that grade from the version you choose. The grades are this site's own grading of its own questions.
- How the keys were checked. Every math answer, and every mechanical answer that is a calculation, is recomputed by a script. Every reading answer rests on a sentence quoted from its passage. Every aviation, nautical and physics fact is quoted from a U.S. government page named under the question. A second solver then answered every question without the key.
Where the official questions come from
Every sample question, difficulty label, direction and answer on this page is from "ASTB-E Sample Questions" (13 May 2014), published by Navy Medicine Operational Training Command, Operational Psychology Department and linked from its ASTB-E Frequently Asked Questions page. We wrote none of them; the only words of ours are the arithmetic shown with the math answers.
The Navy on what its samples are for: they "are not meant to provide an exhaustive list of the types of questions that will be found in the test. Instead, these questions are meant to familiarize examinees with the format and content of questions found within each section."
The Navy also says it "does not officially endorse any commercial study guides," and that for the aviation and nautical subtest examinees "can prepare for this subtest by reviewing general reference materials, such as encyclopedias, FAA and civilian aviation books, and handbooks and manuals that provide an overview of basic piloting, navigation, and seamanship." More is on its ASTB-E overview page.