WOODBURY — When students hear the word “test,” they tend to look the other way in fear. But what if a new meaning was brought to the word?
The ASVAB, or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, test is a career exploration program given to students each year to help them assess their ability to learn new skills and predict what they can do with their future. It’s traditionally a test to help students find prospective military placements, but it can be applied to other careers, too.
Nonnewaug College and Career Resource Center counselor Kathy Green invites all her students to take a chance at the test and explore different opportunities.
“Even before I came to the CCRC, it was offered every year. One of the other counselors used to coordinate it and I was happy to continue it,” said Green. “I see lots of value in the ASVAB not just for students entering the military, but for students who want to learn more about what areas make sense for them to pursue.”
Mykal Kuslis, Nonnewaug’s principal and an active officer in the Connecticut Army National Guard, has first-hand experience in taking the test.
“I took the ASVAB test a couple of times,” said Kuslis. “I took it when I was a senior in high school in 2002, then I took it again before I enlisted into the Guard in 2010.”
Karissa Cizauskas, a junior at NHS, participated in taking the test to benefit her learning and her future.
“I wanted to take it because I grew up in a military family and I’m thinking about joining the military or going to a military college through ROTC,” said Cizauskas. “Most people use [their scores] when they enlist, and I think some schools let you use them for ROTC, but you could also use your SAT scores.”
Kuslis give hope to his students by sharing his score in hopes the students of NHS can do the same and open up lots of opportunities for their future.
“If you can get an 80 on your ASVAB, then that really opens up a lot of branches for you,” said Kuslis. “Getting higher than an 80 really opened up a lot for me and showed me that I can really do anything.”
Green continues to help students with their college journey through the ASVAB test opening them up to possible colleges and careers.
“I think it allows them some insight to potential majors in college and potential careers,” said Green. “It even talks about what type of jobs you would work with the best, or how you work independently or as a team, so I think it really provides a lot of information for the student to use moving forward.”
Thomas Harris, a junior at Nonnewaug, also took the test to give himself different opportunities for his future.
“I took the test to see what direction I could put my future in and become trained in the military or see where I want to go with colleges,” said Harris. “You can get matched with Army recruiters, you can see what colleges are best for you, and you can see what jobs in the military are best for you.”
The test itself isn’t as hard as one might think. This general knowledge test provides everyday living questions to test common knowledge.
“It was really easy,” Harris said. “Most of the questions were middle school-level stuff besides the electricity parts, because I had no clue what those were.”
Kuslis takes the test seriously as he used his score to help him find the right job. Getting a good score on the test could help plan for the future.
“I think when they tell you to enlist, you want to get a good ASVAB score,” said Kuslis. “The better the score, the more jobs it opens you up for, and some people may have this big dream of joining the Army, so there’s definitely some value in making sure your ASVAB score is good if you want to join the military.”
What happens after you take the test?
“The military rep returns a month after the students take the test and does what’s called the ASVAB PTI [post-test interpretation],” said Green. “They kind of walk through not only how students score and what those scores mean for potential careers, but then they also match students to more questions which give insight into values and how that plays into choosing a career.”
The ASVAB career exploration program offers more than just a test. It offers interesting activities and research designed to help students with their future to make confident choices in the world of work.
