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Your study plan
Studying everything in order is slow. Studying what you already know feels good and changes your score very little. The plan is simple: measure, study the part that costs you the most points, and measure again.
Measure, study, measure again
Your first practice score is not a grade. It is a map: it tells you where your points are hiding.
Your time goes where the points are
Every hour spent on a topic you already know is an hour not spent on one you miss. The practice test and its review tell you which is which.
The plan, step by step
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1
Take the free practice test, and choose Full
Take the free practice test and choose Full: the four AFQT tests with the same number of scored questions and the same time per test as the computer version of the ASVAB, each with its own clock. At the end you get two things: an estimated AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score, the score used to decide whether you can enlist, and your score in each of the four parts.
Then open Review your answers. For every question you missed you see the right answer, why it is right, and the trap in that question. Write down the topics you missed: that list is your plan.
Next step: The orderYour estimated AFQTHow far you are from the score you need
Compare it with your branch’s minimum (if your branch gives no number, ask a recruiter)
Your weakest partWhere you have the most room to gain
Start your lessons there
Your missed questionsWhich topics, exactly
Your list of lessons to do first
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2
Study in this order
1. Your weakest part first. That is where you have the most room to gain points.
2. Do not drop the verbal part. Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension together make one verbal score, and that verbal score counts twice in the AFQT formula. Vocabulary grows slowly, so start it early and do a little every day, even while you study math.
3. Then the rest of the course, lesson by lesson. Each lesson is complete when you have read it, done the practice and gone through the flashcards.
Next step: A dayKey ideaIf you are starting from the basics
If fractions, decimals or long division feel shaky, fix those first. Most Arithmetic Reasoning and Mathematics Knowledge questions use them, and there is no calculator on the test.
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3
A study day
Short and every day beats long and once a week. A good day has three parts:
Next step: 4 or 8 weeksOne study dayPart What you do New One lesson: the idea, the method and the traps Practice Its practice questions, then read every explanation Review Flashcards: today’s, then reopen an older lesson and redo the cards you marked “Again” The flashcards you mark “Again” come first the next time you open that lesson’s cards on another day. That is how they stick.
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4
A 4-week or an 8-week plan
Pick the plan by how far your first score is from the one you need, and by how much time you have before your test date. If you are far from your target or starting from the basics, and your test is at least 8 weeks away, take the 8-week plan. If your score is close, or your test is less than 8 weeks away, take the 4-week plan. If you are far from your target and your test is near, also ask your recruiter whether the date can move.
In both, take a Short practice test (20 questions, 5 from each part, about 45 minutes) at the end of each week to see what moved, and the Full one again at the end.
Next step: Measure againTwo plansWeeks 4-week plan 8-week plan 1 Your weakest part The basics: fractions, decimals, by hand 2 Your second weakest part Arithmetic Reasoning 3 The other two parts Arithmetic Reasoning 4 Review your misses, Full test Mathematics Knowledge 5 Mathematics Knowledge 6 Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension 7 Review your misses 8 Full test, review, rest In the 8-week plan, after week 1, move your weakest part to weeks 2 and 3, even if it is Word Knowledge or Paragraph Comprehension.
In both plans, do some vocabulary every day from week 1.
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5
Measure again, then decide
Take the Full practice test again and compare it with your first one. The parts that moved are working. The parts that did not move tell you which lessons to do again.
The official ASVAB program also offers free sample questions for every test at officialasvab.com. And the night before the real test, the official advice is simple: get plenty of rest.
Above your targetYour practice score is above what you need
Talk to a recruiter about your test date
Below your targetSome parts did not move
Redo those lessons, then measure again
4 ways to waste your study time
They all feel like studying. None of them moves your score much.
Starting with what you like
Choosing what to study:
WrongThe topics that feel easy
RightThe part your practice test says is weakest
Reading without practicing
After reading a lesson:
WrongMove on to the next lesson
RightDo its practice and flashcards first
Leaving vocabulary for the end
When to study Word Knowledge:
WrongIn the last week
RightA little every day from week 1
Never measuring
How you know it is working:
Wrong“I feel ready”
RightA practice test score, compared with your first
5 questions to check yourself
Pick an answer, then read why.
You just took your first Full practice test. What should you do next?
Show the answer
C. The review shows which topics cost you points. That list decides your first lessons. Next: Read your missed questions and list the topics.
Your practice test shows Mathematics Knowledge as your weakest part. Where do you start?
Show the answer
A. Your weakest part has the most room to gain points, so it comes first. Keep a little vocabulary every day too. Start with Mathematics Knowledge.
Why do some vocabulary every day, even in a math week?
Show the answer
B. New words take repetition over many days, and the verbal score (Word Knowledge plus Paragraph Comprehension) counts twice in the AFQT formula. The reason: Vocabulary grows slowly, and verbal counts twice in the AFQT.
What makes a lesson “done” in this plan?
Show the answer
B. Reading alone does not tell you if you can do it. The practice and flashcards do. So a lesson is done only after all three steps. The answer: You read it, did the practice and went through the flashcards.
Your first practice score is far from what you need, and you are starting from the basics. Which plan fits?
Show the answer
C. Far from your target and shaky on the basics means you need the longer plan, which starts with fractions, decimals and math by hand. The answer: The 8-week plan.
8 flashcards
Tap a card to flip it. Keep the ones you miss until they stick.
All 8 cards known.
You finished this lesson: Your study plan.
Practice score: not taken yet Take the practice
Next topic: English as a second language Course mapSee this topic move.
In the course, every topic is drawn step by step on a whiteboard while a voice explains it, with timed practice tests and a plan for your test date. The first lessons of every module are free.