Air force officer qualifying test validity for predicting pilot training performance

The AFOQT was validated for the prediction of pilot training criteria. Subjects were 7,563 men and women selected for pilot training on the basis of educational attainment and AFOQT scores. Criterion variables included daily flight training grades, check flight grades in subsonic and transonic aircraft, and overall academic performance in the 53 week pilot training course. Test validities were presented as observed, corrected for multivariate range restriction, and corrected for multivariate range restriction and unreliability. The Aviation Information and Instrument Comprehension tests, measures of job knowledge, were most predictive of daily and check flights in the initial subsonic jet aircraft. This reflects the relative greater importance of prior job knowledge early in training. The Scale Reading test, a measure of perceptual speed, was most predictive for daily and check flights in the advanced transonic training aircraft. The Arithmetic Reasoning test, a good measure of general cognitive ability, was most predictive of aeronautics in ground school. The development of an improved pilot selection composite is suggested by the results of the validity analyses.The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense, or the Government of the United States.