10 U.S. Code § 520 - Limitation on enlistment and induction of persons whose score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test is below a prescribed level
www.law.cornell.edu

(a)The number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in any armed force during any fiscal year whose score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test is at or above the tenth percentile and below the thirty-first percentile may not exceed 20 percent of the total number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in such armed force during such fiscal year.

(b)A person who is not a high school graduate may not be accepted for enlistment in the armed forces unless the score of that person on the Armed Forces Qualification Test is at or above the thirty-first percentile; however, a person may not be denied enlistment in the armed forces solely because of his not having a high school diploma if his enlistment is needed to meet established strength requirements.

An AFQT score is derived from the ASVAB(essentially the militaries’ IQ test). IQ scores are based on a normal distribution of scores from the general population with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. So the 30th percentile represents an IQ score of 92 while the 10th percentile would correlate with an IQ of 81.

  • chaogomu
    3•1 year ago

    If you can be coached to make the standard, then you were already capable of reaching the standard.

    Also, the IQ test that the military gives, the ASVAB, is a very long test. The average time to complete it is 90 minutes. The maximum is 154 minutes.

    If you can be coached through that, then you’ve earned your place. And the simple truth is, people can be coached on the test and do better. Which is okay.

      • chaogomu
        1•1 year ago

        I’m not sure how you can cheat through a proctored test. And the ASVAB is usually given to high school students, and then the results are given to the recruiters, so they know who to focus on.

        If a kid really wants to join despite a low score, I guess they could cram for a specific section of the test…

        As to outright cheating… I never saw it, but then again, I was Air Force. We had a much higher cut off then other branches. That makes cheating to get in both harder and less rewarding. Cheaters will wash out in their tech school.