Preparing Students for the Military

High school teachers are faced with many responsibilities. They are charged with preparing students for college. They are supposed help students prepare for  entering the workforce. Teachers have also tried to answer the challenge of preparing students for life. These are all daunting tasks. But what about preparing high school graduates for the military? Ever since the federal government did away with the draft in 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War and moved to an all volunteer military force, the armed forces had the opportunity to be more selective in the educational capabilities of its recruits. But in reviewing recent scores of the Armed Forces Qualification Tests (AFQT) our high schools today are failing to prepare graduates for the military. According to a report provided  by the Education Trust in 2010 entitled :” Shut Out of the Military: Today’s High School Education Doesn’t Mean You’re ready for Today’s Army”, 1 out of  5 students  failed to qualify for enlistment in the Army based on their AFQT scores. This calls into question the value of a high school diploma as a predictor of success in the military. The Army has a stated goal of having 90 percent of its recruits with at least a high school diploma.   The Department of Defense uses the term “high quality” recruits to define its selection process. It defines a “high quality” recruit based on a combination of educational attainment and AFQT score. A “high quality” recruit is one who scores at or above the 50th percentile on the test and has a regular high school diploma or higher. The Defense Department strives to have all recruits be “high quality” as these recruits will be more likely to complete enlistment terms and perform better during training and in the service.

While the US has declined internationally in the education rankings of its students, its’ military is still perceived to be number one in the world. How long this will continue may very well be a factor of how well we prepare our students to be successful in the military as well as in life.  Our nation’s teaching force has just inherited another job.

c.2013 J. Margolis