The predictive validity of measured interest for Navy vocational training

Abstract

An experimental interest test, yielding scores on 5 homogeneous scales, was administered to a sample of recruits on their 3rd day in the Navy. Recruits were assigned to Naval school training, on the basis of expressed interest and aptitude test scores, by classification personnel who did not have access to interest test scores. Follow-up results are reported for 19,147 recruits assigned to 51 schools, each of which had a related scale on the interest test. For students in each of the 51 schools, the mean score on the related interest scale was significantly higher than the corresponding mean score for the general recruit population. For 41 schools, the related interest scales had statistically significant predictive validity against a school grade criterion. Related interest scales contributed significantly to operational aptitude tests in predicting school success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)