"This report summarizes attrition-related findings for Soldiers who participated in three Select21 reception battalion data collections: the pilot test (September-November 2003), faking research (January-February 2004), and field test (August-September 2004). The report provides estimates of the criterion-related validity of early for pre-concurrent validation versions of the Select21 predictor measures for predicting first-term attrition. As such, the results provided in this report speak to the potential of the measures for selecting future Soldiers who are likely to complete their service obligations"--P. i.

"The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is an essential commissioning source for the U.S. Army. ROTC has recently produced the majority of the Army's new Officers and yields Officers that eventually reach the highest ranks. Analyses have indicated that Officers graduating from the four-year ROTC scholarship program tend to be more likely than their non-scholarship ROTC, U.S. Military Academy (USMA), and Officer Candidate School (OCS) counterparts to leave after their initial Active Duty Service Obligation (ADSO). Furthermore, relative to non-scholarship Cadets, four-year scholarship Cadets tend to be less likely to complete the ROTC program and become commissioned Officers. Data collected for the current project showed that approximately 10.3% of four-year scholarship freshmen in 2007 disenrolled between their freshman and sophomore years. The primary purpose of the current project was to develop and validate a new measure that would improve the prediction of ROTC continuance for four-year scholarship recipients. The long-term objective of this project is to provide the foundation for future longitudinal research that examines the impact of the new measures for predicting ROTC program completion, commissioning, and career continuance in the Army. This report describes the development of the Cadet Background and Experience Form (CBEF) and its initial validation for predicting disenrollment criteria."--Stinet.

The Army needs the best personnel to meet the emerging demands of the 21st century. Accordingly, the Army is seeking recommendations on new experimental predictor measures that could enhance entry-level Soldier selection and classification decisions, in particular, measures of non-cognitive attributes (e.g., interests, values, temperament). The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) is conducting a longitudinal criterion-related validation research effort to collect data to inform these recommendations. Data on experimental predictors were collected from about 11,000 Soldiers. Training criterion data were collected for differing subsets of the predictor sample in the first of three planned criterion measurement points. Soldiers were drawn from two samples: (a) job-specific samples targeting six entry-level Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) and (b) an Army-wide sample with no MOS-specific requirements. In the analyses reported here, the value of the experimental predictor measures to enhance new Soldier selection was examined. Overall, many of the experimental predictors significantly incremented the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) in predicting Soldier performance and retention during training. In addition, the experimental predictors generally exhibited smaller subgroup mean differences (by gender, race, and ethnicity) than the AFQT.

To meet the challenges facing the Army, the Army needs predictor measures that will enhance entry-level Soldier selection and classification. One of the purposes of the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI's) Army Class project is to provide the Army with recommendations on which predictor measures, in particular measures of non-cognitive attributes (e.g., interests, values, and temperament), demonstrate the greatest potential to inform entry-level Soldier selection and classification decisions. The present report documents the development of criterion measures to assist in these analyses. A second purpose of the Army Class project is to develop and pilot job knowledge tests (JKTs) that can be used to aid reclassification decisions. If Soldiers are shown to possess critical knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSAs) for their new jobs, this could reduce training requirements and increase force readiness. This report documents the development of reclassification JKT test items.