ASVAB Career exploration program or stealth military recruiting tool

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ASVAB Career exploration program or stealth
military recruiting tool?
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The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
(ASVAB) is a 3 ½ hour standardized test that
has been given to public high school students
since 1968.

• The ASVAB is
• a joint program between the nation's schools and
  the military.
• the official entry test used by all services.
• the militarys 1 recruiting tool.

3
High school juniors and seniors across the
country take the 3 ½ hour ASVAB because theyre
told it will help them decide what to do when
they grow up.
4
Bernard Winslow, a Junior at Greenwood High
School in Millerstown, PA took the ASVAB at
school on October 13, 1998.
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Depending on how well Bernard performed in
various subject areas, the military is able to
match him with appropriate military occupational
specialties (MOSs)
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The ASVAB can match high school students to
various Military Operations Specialties, like
these

• Cannon Crew member
• Helicopter Repairer
• Cavalry Scout
• Firefighter
• Electric Bass Guitar Player
• Chaplain Assistant
• Artillery Mechanic
• Mortuary Affairs Specialist
• Parachute Rigger
• Radar Repairer
• Military Police Officer
• Food Service Technician

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The ASVAB is also used to compute the
all-important Armed Forces Qualifying Test Score,
or AFQT.

• Minimum AFQT scores for enlistment
• Army 31
• Navy 35
• Air Force 36
• Marines 32
• Coast Guard 40
• Recruits with scores of 21 have recently been
  allowed to enlist.

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Based on his ASVAB scores, this young man was
prequalified for dozens of military operation
specialties. The Navy was happy to have him
aboard.
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The ASVAB is the U.S. militarys most valuable
recruiting asset. The administration of the test
provides extremely valuable leads for military
recruiters.
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The ASVAB provides a fast track to enlistment.
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How do they do they do it?In 2006-07 this
military exam was given to 621,000 students in
high schools across the country.
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The ASVABs purpose is to find recruits.

• School Recruiting Program Handbook
• USAREC Pamphlet 350-13
• Chapter 6 - ASVAB
• 6-2. Purpose
• Within the United States Army Recruiting Command
• (USAREC), ASVAB is designed to
• a. Provide the field recruiter with
  
• a source of leads of high school
• seniors and juniors qualified
• through the ASVAB for
• enlistment into the Active
• Army and Army Reserve.

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School administrators often dont see how the
ASVAB is used by the military as a recruiting
tool.
14
The military has embarked on a campaign to hide
the true nature of the ASVAB test from the
American public.
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School counselors encourage students to take
advantage of the Career Exploration Program
without taking steps to protect students from the
onslaught of calls from military recruiters who
are furnished with the test results.
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The United States Military Entrance Processing
Command, (USMEPCOM) provides school officials
with promotional materials that rarely explain
what the acronym ASVAB stands for or reveals
the tests relationship to military recruiting.
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Students are tested without parental consent

• High school students across the country routinely
  take the ASVAB test and their private information
  and test results are forwarded to military
  recruiting services without their parents'
  knowledge or consent.

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School officials are violating federal laws and
most state laws when they administer the ASVAB
without taking steps to protect student privacy.
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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the
privacy of student education records. The law
insures that parents control the release of
information regarding their children.
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Schools violate FERPA when they give the ASVAB
without protecting student privacy.
21
The pentagon claims it administers the ASVAB, not
the schools, so the test results and private
student information are not subject to federal
laws that protect student privacy.
22
However, school teachers and counseling staff
perform the role of ASVAB test proctors the test
is done during instructional hours and it is
promoted by the school.
23
The military comes into our schools and tests our
children for four hours. It collects social
security numbers and sensitive demographic
information, contrary to most state laws, and it
uses the results for recruiting purposes without
our consent.
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The ASVAB is the militarys stealth recruiting
tool, like the B-1 bomber, it operates under the
(parental) radar screen.
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It gets even worse.. Almost 10 of the 621,000
high school students who took the ASVAB last year
were forced to take it, according to information
released by the pentagon. With 11,900 high
schools administering the test, that means about
a thousand schools require all juniors to take
the ASVAB. Whose schools are they?
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In February of 2008, three high school students
at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, NC
were sent to an in-school suspension classroom
after refusing to take the ASVAB. "I don't have
a lot of patience with people who are refusing to
take the assessment -- or refusing anything that
their entire grade level is participating in,"
Principal Gary Thornburg said. Raleigh News
Observer
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Many governors have issued proclamations urging
high school students to take the ASVAB. None
mention the tie-in with recruiting. In 1995,
Texas Governor George W. Bush proclaimed an
official Texas ASVAB Day when all high school
juniors were encouraged to take the military
test.
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The Great State of Idaho ARMED SERVICES
VOCATIONAL APTITUDE BATTERY TESTING WEEK I urge
all high schools in the State of Idaho to
encourage students to utilize the Armed Services
Vocational Aptitude Battery testing and
counseling materials that acquaint students with
a variety of career opportunities and
vocational/technical training programs. C.L.
BUTCH OTTER GOVERNOR
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School administrators are often unaware the
military is required to offer a privacy option
for schools administering the test . See Option 8
on the next slide

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USMEPCOM Regulation 601-4, November 13,
2006Personnel ProcurementStudent Testing Program

• Table 3-1
• Recruiter Release Options
• Option Instructions for providing access to
  student test information to recruiting services
• Provide student test information to
  recruiting services
• 1 no sooner than 7 days after mailed to school
• 2 no sooner than 60 days after mailed to school
• 3 no sooner than 90 days after mailed to school
• 4 no sooner than 120 days after mailed to school
• 5 no sooner than the end of the SY for that
  specific school or 30 June
• 6 no sooner than 7 days after mailed to school
  with instruction that no
• telephone solicitation by recruiters will be
  conducted as a result
• of test information provided
• 7 Invalid test results. Student test information
  is not provided to recruiting
  
• services
• 8 Access to student test information is not
  provided to recruiting services

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Under Option 8 access to student test information
is not provided to recruiting services.
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Of course If a school fails to select an option
for the release of test data, the military
automatically selects Option 1 and the test
results are forwarded to recruiters in 7 days.
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The military is not telling high schools about
Option 8.
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Thats your job!
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The military used a form in a Maryland
jurisdiction that omitted Option 8. The form
below only lists Options 1 through 6, all of
which forward data to recruiters.----------------
--------------------------------------------------
-------------------
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Of the 621,000 high school students who took the
ASVAB in 2006-7, 92 had their test results sent
to military recruiters.
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Children who sit for the ASVAB are required to
sign a "Privacy Statement" that implies
permission is granted to the military to use
private information.
38
(No Transcript)
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Most states have laws that make it illegal to
compel a minor to relinquish private information
and social security numbers without parental
consent.
40
A desire to adhere to Maryland laws have led
school systems in that state to select Option 8
and require parental permission for students who
take the ASVAB.
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Whose schools are they?
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The ASVAB helps turn kids..
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into soldiers
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Investigative journalist Dan Hardy with the
Philadelphia Inquirer received the data cited in
this report from the Pentagon through a Freedom
of Information Act Request. You can access the
database at www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/26
249194.html  
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Want to stop it in your community?

• Contact NNOMY, The National Network Opposing the
  Militarization of Youth
• www.nnomy.org
• admin_at_nnomy.org