Selection of Officer/Students for Graduate Education.

Confined to existing monetary and human resources, the Navy's Postgraduate Selection Board is responsible for selecting officers for graduate education who will both perform well and develop skills applicable to later Navy billets. Although different methods have been employed for this selection process, most decisions have been based on officer fitness reports and prior academic records. Data from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), and a biographic data form were used in attempts to predict Naval Postgraduate School grade averages in four separate curricula: Operations Research/Systems Analysis, Aeronautical Engineering, Communications Management, and Management. Results indicate that academic aptitude and biographic data could be used for selection to the Naval Postgraduate School. Implementation would require the availability of biographical data and GRE scores for all candidates. The costs of developing these data would seem small when compared to (1) the time saving that could accrue by streamlining the postgraduate selection process, and (2) the more effective use of officer/student human resources. (BJG)