The main goal for the ASTB test is to not only find out who makes a great Navy Officer but also to find the ones who build the best Navy Airmen. The requirements for each are very different, whether you want to go to the Officer Candidate School (OCS), be a Student Naval Aviator (SNA), or be a Student Naval Flight Officer. For this reason, different sections of the ASTB are weighted more heavily for the different classifications. Because different traits are more suitable for different situations, there is a somewhat complex scoring and classification system. That is why the results of the 7 ASTB Sections are used to create four scoring categories
ASTB score categories
The four scoring categories that are derived from the 7 sections of the ASTB are the Pilot Flight Aptitude Rating (PFAR), the Academic Qualifications Rating (AQR), the Flight Officer Aptitude Rating (FOFAR), and the Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR).
OAR is a combination of the first three parts of ASTB (MST, RCT, and MCT). This rating uses 1 point increments and gets between 20 and 80 points.
The other 3 categories (AQR, PFAR, and FOFAR) use a standard nine or stanine system of evaluation. The stanine system means that they are built on a scale of 1 to 9, with an average of 5 and a standard deviation of two.
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The following chart shows each stanine by percentile:
| Stanine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Percentile | 1-4% | 4-11% | 11-23% | 23-40% | 40-60% | 60-77% | 77-89% | 89-96% | 96-99% |
If a candidate is not interested in an aviation job, he or she should only choose the first three sections of the ASTB (MCT, RCT, and ANIT) known as OAR. However, if an applicant completes the entire ASTB, each of the four combined scores will be scored.
Note which programs you are interested in because each of them uses different components in their selection processes:
1- Officer candidate school:
OCS uses only the applicant’s OAR score in its selection process.
2- Student naval aviator:
The SNA selection process uses the applicant’s AQR and PFAR scores.
3- Student naval flight officer:
The SNFO selection process uses the applicant’s AQR and FOFAR scores.
ASTB minimum scores
Depending on which scoring group they use, each category needs a different minimum score. The table below shows the minimum different scores required for each:
| AQR | PFAR | FOFAR | OAR | |
| Student Naval Aviators (SNA) | 4 | 5 | – | – |
| Student Naval Flight Officers (SNFO) | 4 | – | 5 | – |
| Marine Pilots and Marine Flight Officers | 4 | – | 6 | – |
| Coast Guards and OCS | 4 | 5 | – | – |
| Navy OCS | – | – | – | 35 |
Always remember that having a minimum score does not mean that you have a goal. Try to get a good score as much as you can because it is more important in your performance in your group.
Average ASTB test scores
Using the stanine system, the average scores for AQR, PFAR, and FOFAR 5 are which ranges between 40-60%. So if you get a score of 5 in each of these sections, it means that you have performed approximately 40-60% better than the other testers. The OAR is scored from 20 to 80 using one-point increments with average scores between 40 and 60.
What are the good scores for the ASTB?
It is good to have a score that guarantees your success, but the truth is it just depends on who you’re up against. If you get a high score, but the rest get a higher score, depending on how many seats are available you may not get in. Your best bet is to do as much testing as you can and get as familiar with the layout and flow as possible, so there are no surprises and just let the chips fall where they might.
