The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, is a test that determines your qualifications for enlisting in the US Military.
It’s the most important test you’ll take, and one of the most important scores in the test is your GT score.
Your GT score often has a direct impact on your career path in the military.
Throughout this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about this score, as well as tips on how to improve it.
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1. What Is the GT Score?
When you take the Armed Service Battery Test (ASVAB) test, your score is not just one score.
Instead, it is several scores over specific areas of knowledge.
The GT score is the General Technical section.
Essentially, the score represents the soldiers’ reading, language, and basic math skills.
Depending on the branch of the military, it may include mechanical knowledge.
The GT score, along with the nine other sections of the test, are called the line scores.
These scores determine if you are eligible for the service and which specialty, or job, for which you are best suited.
Also, this score is part of your eligibility for the officer training school.
A GT score of at least 110 is necessary to be qualified for certain Military Occupation Specialties (MOS) depending on your branch of the military.
Therefore, if you want to be considered as a candidate for one of the harder-to-get positions, you need to improve your score.
Related Article – 4 Steps For Visiting A Marine Corps Recruiter Near You
2. How Do the Different Branches Determine the GT Score?
The Army calculates this particular score by combining the scores for Word Knowledge (WK), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Paragraph Comprehension (PC).
The Marines calculate the GT score with the Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Mechanical Comprehension (MC) scores.
In the Coast Guard, it’s calculated with the sum of Word Knowledge (WK), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Paragraph Comprehension (PC).
The Air Force uses the ASVAB test to determine if a potential service member qualifies for a job in the Air Force, called an Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC). The Air Force takes the parts of the test into qualification areas. The General Qualification area includes Verbal Expression, which is Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, as well as Arithmetic Reasoning (AR).
The Navy uses the ASVAB test differently. Every Navy Rating has a combination of minimum scores necessary for the ASVAB subtests.
3. Why Is Getting a Good GT Score Important?
A high GT score translates into more opportunities.
Many positions in the military are competitive.
For instance, in the Army, you must have a GT score of 110 to qualify for the Green to Gold program.
The Green to Gold program helps soldiers earn a degree to qualify for an officer commission.
Furthermore, service members often wish to switch to a different MOS but could be disqualified if the score is too low.
Furthermore, a low score stands in the way of other career advancement opportunities.
Related Article – ASVAB Scores for Air Force Jobs
4. How Can I Calculate My GT Score?
Depending on which branch of the military you are in, you would look at how that branch calculates the GT score.
For instance, if you are in the Army, look at the nine different scores on your ASVAB test, and locate the numbered scores for Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), and Word Knowledge (WK).
Add up these sub-test scores to calculate your GT score.
5. How Can I Improve My GT Score?
Now that you know how essential your GT score is, perhaps you want to work to improve this score.
You can retake the test, but it helps to prepare before the retake.
Talk to your career counselor regarding what local options you have available to prepare for the test.
Sometimes this extra practice often happens in a classroom environment.
Other times, you may find you have one-to-one tutoring options.
In some cases, there are online options for boosting your scores.
Furthermore, check with your local career counselor because there are online practice tests available, as well.
Related Article – Retaking the ASVAB
Conclusion
Every branch of the military handles how they utilize the raw scores of the ASVAB test.
Some branches focus mostly on the GT score.
However, some branches of the military focus on calculations of the subtests as those scores relate to specific jobs.
Since your performance on the ASVAB test and the GT score is so important, it is vital to do well.
If you find your score is less than what you hoped for, you do have opportunities to prepare for a retake of the test.
References:
Born and raised in Woodbridge, NJ, he graduated from the New Jersey Institute Of Technology with an MBA in eCommerce.His hobbies include beach volleyball, target shooting, and lifting.
Rob is also a Commercially rated pilot and Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), with over 1,500 hours of flight time.
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After a 21-year career in the Army, I can attest to the importance of ASVAB scores. They follow you everywhere you go, every assignment, every promotion, every school assignment.
I’ve heard that the General Technical (GT) Score roughly equates to your IQ. Does anyone know if that is true? Also, what is the highest possible GT Score?
I would say that is completely inaccurate due to the 176 IQ test result I had in seventh grade and my 127 GT when I joined the Army at nineteen years old.
Roughly. I scored 157 on my GT in 1965. Many years later I applied to the triple nine society (IQ at the 99.9 percentile or above). This was downgraded to the equivalent of an IQ test with a 15 standard deviation. This turned out to be 150 which was just high enough to get in. I still wonder what the max GT score is. The NCO verifying my scores called aside another NCO for a short discussion. When he came back, he told me my score was the highest he had seen and requested confirmation before continuing.
I have seen claims of 158 which made me believe 160 might be the highest score possible, but this does not seem logical since TNS would downgrade it to 152-53 for purposes of admission. Although there are records of IQs exceeding 180, this scenario does not seem to ring true unless a GT max were in the 200 range.