How to Calculate ASVAB Practice Test Scores

Your AFQT score, or Armed Forces Qualifying Test score, is the military term for the commonly referred to “minimum ASVAB score” enlistment requirement. Four areas of your ASVAB will be used to calculate your AFQT score: 

• Word Knowledge (WK)
• Paragraph Comprehension (PC)
• Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) 
• Mathematics Knowledge (MK)

To find out what AFQT score you need to qualify to enlist in a specific military branch, visit this article about military requirements for ASVAB scores categorized by military branch. It is impossible to calculate your AFQT score using a practice test because each Mathematics Knowledge and Arithmetic Reasoning question is worth 1-3 points depending on it’s level of difficulty. The amount of points each math question is worth is only known by the Department of Defense. Below is information on how AFQT Percentile scores are typically calculated. However, each branch calculates scores differently so it is important to get the numbers for each branch directly from the military.

However, the best way you can study before taking the actual ASVAB is to averageyour score on each test (just like you would a normal test) and simply study the area that you score low on. For example, if there are 30 Arithmetic Reasoning question and you get 15 correct then your average score in Arithmetic Reasoning is 50%. You will want to study more to get your score up to at least 70% on ASVAB Practice Tests. This will ensure you get a high enough AFQT score to qualify for the military.

First, the military determines your Verbal Expression (VE) score as it makes up part of your AFQT score. To compute your VE score from ASVAB practice test results, add the number of correct (1 point per correct answer) questions from the Paragraph Comprehension (PC) and the Word Knowledge (WK) sections. Then find what your overall weighted VE Score would be according to the following table.

Table for Calculating VE Score

Second, the military uses the following formula to calculate your AFQT score: 2VE + AR + MK.  Here are step-by-step directions:

1. Double the VE score (VE score x 2)
2. Then they add the result of step 1 to the Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) and Math Knowledge (MK) totals (1-3 point per correct answer).
3. Your results are turned into an AFQT percentile score based on the below table. This is your AFQT Percentile Score that will be used to see if you meet minimum military enlistment requirements.

Note: For points of 120 or lower,  keep reducing by one.