How Long Does The Practice ASVAB Take?

ASVABs are taken in Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), and other satellite locations called Military Entrance Test Sites (METS). 65 MEPS are spread across the United States and Puerto Rico, if you live far away from a MEPS you can take your test at a satellite station.

Most METS administer the paper and pencil test, while the CAT-ASVAB or the computer ASVAB is administered at MEPS. You should know which mode of testing suits you best before the examination date.

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All examinees are supposed to arrive early for the test; once all the test takers are checked in, you will be given a few instructions. Many people are conscious about time and they will always want to know the time they will take during the test. This article is aimed at explaining the length of time you can spend in the test room.

It’s good to know the length of time you take, depending on the mode of the test you are taking. There are two modes, the CAT-ASVAB and the paper and pencil P&P ASVAB.

PAPER AND PENCIL ADMINISTRATION

After the administrator gives you the general instructions, you will be given the answer sheets and the question booklet. You will then be requested to proceed, never start the test unless you are instructed to do so.

The approximate time you can take in the test room, including instructions and administrative duties, is 3-4 hours. All the subtests in this mode have different numbers of questions and hence varying lengths of time for each.

Always review your answers whenever you complete a particular subtest. Remember you will not be allowed to review an earlier subtest and can only proceed to the next after being instructed to do so. After the test time has elapsed, all the answer sheets are collected and sent to the MEPS for marking and scoring.

After some days your recruiter will then notify you when the scores are ready. The table below shows the various subtests with their corresponding number of question and the number of minutes you should take to complete them.

General science, 25 questions, 11 minutes
Arithmetic reasoning, 30 questions, 36 minutes
Word knowledge, 35 questions, 11 minutes
Paragraph comprehension, 15 questions, 13 minutes
Mathematics knowledge, 25 questions, 24 minutes
Electronic information, 20 questions, 9 minutes
Auto and shop information, 25 questions, 11 minutes
Mechanical comprehension, 25 questions, 19 minutes
Assembling objects, 25 questions, 15 minutes

Therefore you will take 2 hours and 29 minutes to complete the 225 questions of the P&P ASVAB test.

CAT-ASVAB ADMINISTRATION

This is the computer mode of the ASVAB test and it’s an adaptive test. The test is shorter than using paper and pencil and it recognizes the level of ability of each examinee and adapts to it. Each examinee works at her/his own pace and can proceed to the next subtest when they finish.

This is one of the advantages of taking the CAT-ASVAB test, because you are able to move to the next test without waiting for the other test takers. However each subtest has an imposed time limit, and it’s easy to complete the whole test before the time elapses.

The computer will always display the number of questions and amount of time remaining, at the bottom right hand corner. On average most examines are able to complete the test in 1 ½ hours.

You will be guided on how to use the computer when answering the question and will be able to obtain help whenever you need it. It’s easy to take the test since each subtest contains a specific set of instructions and a practice question.

You will be able to get your score immediately the testing is over. One of the disadvantage of this version is that once you submit an answer you cannot change it. The following table show a description of the subtests and the time you should take.