 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Washington (AFP) Dec 22, 2010 Nearly a quarter of US high school graduates who seek to enlist in the military are turned down because they fail its entry exam, an education advocacy group said Wednesday. Of the 350,000 graduates who met the armed forces' physical requirements from 2004 to 2009, 23 percent failed the exam, which covers English, math and reasoning, The Education Trust said in a new report. "Just as secondary schools are failing to prepare many students for college and civilian careers, so too are they failing to prepare young men and women -- particularly young people of color -- for military service." The study found higher rates of failure among minorities, with 39 percent of African-Americans and 29 percent of Latinos failing the exam, compared to 16 percent of white applicants. The Pentagon administers a battery of tests to aspiring recruits, covering vocabulary, reading comprehension, science, math, logical reasoning, electronics, automobiles and mechanical skills. A sample question reads: "If the tire of a car rotates at a constant speed of 552 times in one minute, how many times will the tire rotate in half-an-hour?" Lower test scores on average could prevent minorities from progressing as quickly in the military, as the entry exam also determines where new recruits will be placed and can shape their future careers. "This shatters the comfortable myth that academically underprepared students will find in the military a second-chance pathway to success," said Kati Haycock, the head of Education Trust.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links
Lebanon's disabled war veterans spread Christmas cheerBeit Shabab, Lebanon (AFP) Dec 22, 2010 Bechara was only 19 when, fighting for one of Lebanon's many militias during the 1975-1990 civil war, he was wounded in battle as a bullet lodged itself in his spine. Thirty-four years later, from his wheelchair, he is crafting Christmas gifts for children across his native Lebanon, a still-divided country that risks sliding back into chaos at any moment. "My biggest hope is that Lebanon ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
