Army Line Scores Explained: GT, CL, ST and the Other Seven

Your AFQT decides whether you can join the Army. Your line scores decide which jobs you can do once you're in. They come from the same ASVAB, but they're calculated differently — and most of what you'll find online about how they're calculated is out of date. Here's what the official sources actually say.

AFQT vs. line scores

goarmy.com puts it in two sentences: your AFQT "determines your eligibility to join and requires a score of at least 31 to enlist," and your ASVAB category scores — "also called line scores — determine job opportunities across different career categories."

The AFQT uses only four subtests: Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. Line scores draw on the rest of the test too — science, electronics, auto and shop, mechanical comprehension and assembling objects. That's why a good AFQT doesn't automatically open every job.

The official ASVAB site calls these composite scores, and notes that each branch "develops and validates its own set of composites." Line score is the Army's name for them.

The Army's 10 line scores

This table shows the subjects goarmy.com says each line score requires high scores in, with the example job goarmy gives for each. Abbreviations: VE Verbal Expression, AR Arithmetic Reasoning, MK Mathematics Knowledge, GS General Science, EI Electronics Information, AS Auto and Shop Information, MC Mechanical Comprehension.

Verbal Expression (VE) isn't a separate test. The official site defines it as a weighted combination of your Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension scores.

How they're calculated — what's official today

Search "Army line score formulas" and you'll find tidy sums like CL = VE + AR + MK. The official ASVAB program publishes something different.

On its Military Jobs page, officialasvab.com lists the composite formulas for each branch. For the Army:

• General Technical (GT) = AR + VE. That's the only Army formula shown as a simple sum.
• For the other nine, the formula column is left blank, and a note explains that they are "computed as a non-integer weighted linear combination of all ASVAB subtests (GS, AR, WK, PC, MK, EI, AS, MC, and AO)."

In plain English: each of those nine scores uses every subtest, with different weights — some subtests count a lot, others very little. goarmy.com's list of "subjects that matter" tells you where the weight is concentrated, but you can't recompute those nine scores by hand from a simple formula.

What this means for you:

1. GT is the one you can predict. If you know your AR and your verbal skills are strong, your GT is strong.
2. For the other nine, every subtest contributes something. Skipping preparation for a "non-AFQT" section isn't free if you want a technical job.
3. Treat online calculators for CL, EL, ST and the rest with caution if they use simple sums.

Other branches do it differently

The same official page shows that every branch has its own system:

• Air Force: four composites — Mechanical, Administrative, General and Electronic. General is VE + AR.
• Marine Corps: four composites — Mechanical, Clerical, General Technician and Electrical. General Technician is VE + AR + MC.
• Navy: fifteen composites, grouped into administration, specialized, mechanical, operations and technical.

So "my GT score" means something different in the Army than in the Marine Corps. Always check the branch.

Getting the job you want

Each job sets its own minimum line score(s), and those requirements can change. Before you plan around a number, confirm the current requirement for the specific job with a recruiter.

A practical approach:

1. Pick the job (or job family) first. Find its line score.
2. Look at the subjects behind that line score in the table above.
3. Give those subtests real study time — not only the four AFQT sections.

And if your scores improve later: goarmy.com, describing its Future Soldier Preparatory Course, notes that you may be able to select a new job (MOS) based on a higher score, depending on the needs of the Army.

Start with the four that count twice

Arithmetic Reasoning and your verbal skills (Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension) feed your AFQT and your GT, and goarmy lists them among the subjects for several other line scores too. That makes them the best first investment of study time.

Our free practice test covers the four AFQT sections with the computer version's time limits and gives you an AFQT estimate at the end — a practice estimate, not an official score. To understand that number, read What Is a Good AFQT Score?; for the Arithmetic Reasoning section in detail, see Arithmetic Reasoning Practice Test.

Quick answers

What is a GT score in the Army?

General Technical, one of the Army's ten line scores. The official ASVAB site gives its formula as AR + VE — Arithmetic Reasoning plus Verbal Expression (Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension combined).

How many line scores does the Army have?

Ten: Clerical, Combat, Electronics, Field Artillery, General Maintenance, General Technical, Mechanical Maintenance, Operators & Food, Surveillance & Communication, and Skilled Technical.

Does the AFQT decide my Army job?

No. The AFQT decides whether you can enlist (the Army's minimum is 31). Line scores decide which jobs you qualify for.

Are the line score formulas online correct?

Only GT is published as a simple sum (AR + VE). The official site says the Army's other nine are weighted combinations of all ASVAB subtests, so simple-sum formulas for those aren't what the official program publishes.

Sources

• Military Jobs (composite scores) — officialasvab.com
• ASVAB — goarmy.com
• Understanding ASVAB Scores — officialasvab.com