The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) is used by all of the Services to determine if an applicant is eligible for the military. Four of the ASVAB subtests are combined to form the AFQT. It measures general cognitive ability and is composed of verbal and mathematics subtests. AFQT scores are grouped into categories for reporting purposes. The table below shows the AFQT categories and the percentile score ranges corresponding to the categories. Applicants that score in AFQT category IIIA or higher may qualify for enlistment incentives.
AFQT Secrets Study Guide
I (AFQT) 93–99)
II (AFQT 65–92)
IIIA (AFQT 50–64)
IIIB (AFQT 31–49)
IVA (AFQT 16–30)
IVB (AFQT 10–15) Not currently accepted. (Except 09L or 09C for ARNG.)
V (AFQT 0–9) Not eligible to enlist. (Except 09L.)
The minimum AFQT score required to qualify for enlistment varies across the different branches of service. Required AFQT entrance scores for high school graduates by service are:
- Air Force: 36
- Air National Guard: 31
- Army: 31
- Coast Guard: 45
- Marines: 32
- Navy: 31
The AFQT score is compiled from scores on the Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Mathematics Knowledge, and Arithmetic Reasoning subtests of the ASVAB. The formula is typically:
2*(Word Knowledge + Paragraph Comprehension) + Arithmetic Reasoning + Mathematics Knowledge
These AFQT test score categories are percentiles, which indicate how well the test-taker performed relative to others. A person scoring a 50, for example, performed as well as or better than half of the other test-takers. The percentile score is based on the raw score (number of questions answered correctly) and the difficulty of the test version.
