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The computerized version of the ASVAB uses computerized adaptive testing to make sure each applicant gets questions tailored to their ability level. This version, called the CAT-ASVAB, presents test questions in a different format. It adapts the questions it offers you based on your level of proficiency (that’s why it’s called adaptive). Translation: The first test item is of average difficulty. If you answer this question correctly, the next question may be more difficult. If you answer that first question incorrectly, the computer will most likely follow with an easier question. By contrast, on the paper ASVAB, easy and hard questions are presented randomly.

The CAT-ASVAB also has fewer questions than the paper-and-pencil version has — the people who designed it did that on purpose. With this type of testing, the computer can quickly determine how much you know without asking you a full range of very easy to very hard questions.

Maybe it’s because people today are more comfortable in front of a computer than with a pencil, but military recruiters have noted that among applicants who’ve taken both the paper-based and computerized versions of the ASVAB, many applicants tend to score slightly higher on the computerized version of the test.

You don’t have to be a computer guru to appreciate the advantages of the computerized version of the ASVAB:

 It’s impossible to record your answer in the wrong space on the answer sheet. Questions and possible answers are presented on the screen, and you press the key that corresponds to your answer choice before moving on to the next question. Often, only the A, B, C, and D keys are activated when you take the test.

 The difficulty of the test items presented depends on whether you answered the previous question correctly. On the two math subtests of the ASVAB, harder questions are worth more points than easier questions are, so this method helps maximize your AFQT score.THE PiCAT: THE ASVAB’S STAY-AT-HOME COUSINThe Pre-screening, internet-delivered Computer Adaptive Test, or PiCAT, is the military’s way of operating more efficiently and speeding up the enlistment process. It allows recruiters to give applicants a special access code to take a full-length, unproctored ASVAB on any computer. After a recruit completes the PiCAT — provided their scores are high enough to enlist in the military — the recruiter can take the recruit to MEPS for verification testing. Verification testing takes 25 to 30 minutes, and its purpose is simple: to make sure the recruit wasn’t at home looking up answers to ASVAB test questions. When PiCAT scores are verified (meaning the recruit most likely didn’t cheat on the test), the recruit is good to go for enlistment. When the scores aren’t verified (meaning the recruit scored poorly on the verification test compared to how they scored on the PiCAT), the recruit must take a full-length ASVAB at MEPS. The resulting ASVAB score will be the score of record. Not all recruiters use the PiCAT, and those who do may not use it for all applicants.

 You get your scores right away. The computer automatically calculates and prints your standard scores for each subtest and your line scores for each service branch. (For more on line scores, see Chapter 2.) This machine is a pretty smart cookie — it also calculates your AFQT percentile score on the spot. You usually know whether you qualify for military enlistment on the same day you take the test and, if so, which jobs you qualify for.

On the downside, you can’t skip questions or change your answers after you enter them on the CAT-ASVAB. Instead of being able to go through and immediately answer all the questions you’re sure of, you have to answer each question as it comes. This can make it difficult to judge how much time to spend on a tough question before guessing and moving on. Also, if you have a few minutes at the end of the test, you can’t go back and make sure you marked the correct answer to each question. Finally, the CAT-ASVAB is the only version of the test that includes tryout questions (see Chapter 1 for more information), which can stretch out your total test-taking time — but on a positive note, the tryout questions don’t affect your score.