Finding The 'Right Stuff': Development of an Army Aviator Selection Instrument; Conference paper

摘要

The current test for selection into the Army flight school is the Alternate Flight Aptitude Selection Test (AFAST). Since it was first developed in 1988, the AFAST has been scrutinized for deficiencies, including minimal predictive validity and operational support, past expropriation of testing materials, general limitations of paper and pencil testing, a less-than-optimal selection strategy, and the likelihood that it does not measure the correct set of attributes given the considerable change in aviator requirements and in the applicant population. In June of 2004, this prompted the Army to seek to replace the AFAST with an alternate, computer-administered test for Army flight training with an emphasis on the aptitudes required for Future Force aviator performance within the Future Combat Systems environment. The Army further recognizes the need to include or adapt existing tests within DOD, to have the capability of rapidly assessing the performance or validity of the new instrument, to revise the instrument when necessary, to have the capability of adapting its application to selection for related occupational categories such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Operators, and to develop an instrument for classification of aviators into appropriate aircraft/mission types. In response to these needs, the Army Research Institute developed a computer-based, web- administered aviator selection battery to correct identified deficiencies of the Army's current selection instrument, the AFAST. A rigorous six-stage process included the identification of viable predictor and criterion measures and the preliminary validation of the prototype instrument. This effort laid the groundwork for aviator classification into assigned aircraft/mission types and for Unmanned Aviation Systems (UAS) operator selection. Twelve briefing charts summarize the presentation.