According to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the GED test was developed as a way for soldiers returning from World War II to gain their high school equivalency so they could go to college or seek employment. Military personnel were the only people taking the test until the late 1940s or early '50s, when states began accepting GED scores for non-veterans. In contrast, the military has been testing its soldiers since World War I for training and placement purposes. According to the ASVAB Testing Center, both the Army and the Navy developed tests to determine a soldier's ability to both follow orders and give orders. The ASVAB was developed for all branches of the military in the late 1960s.
The GED consists of five subtests: English-language arts (reading), English-language arts (writing, which includes grammar and mechanics), science, social studies and mathematics. The GED tests are available in English, French and Spanish. According to the GED Testing Service, the test is supposed to measure the skills a student would have learned in four years of high school. In contrast, on the ASVAB, there are nine or ten subtests that measure four domains: verbal, math, science and technical. The technical subtest measures knowledge in mechanics, automotive, shop tools and mechanical and physical principals -- which the GED test does not measure at all. The ASVAB is available to take on the computer or on paper. According to the Army website, the ASVAB is designed to place soldiers in positions in the military.
GED test scores, according to the GED Testing Service, can be used by students who pass the test to apply to vocational/technical schools, community colleges and other colleges or universities. GED test scores are recognized as a high school equivalency, therefore students may gain entrance to higher education and entry-level jobs that require a high school diploma. The military also requires a GED or a high school diploma to enlist. ASVAB scores, according to the ASVAB Testing Center, can only be used for placement in jobs in the military.
The GED test score report is, according to the GED Testing Service, fairly easy to read and interpret. One criticism of the current score report is that it doesn't inform the test taker what his weaknesses were on the test. With the new 2014 GED test, the score reports will show the test taker his strengths and weaknesses, as well as what skills he needs to brush up on. The ASVAB score report on the other hand, can be very confusing. According to the ASVAB Testing Center, the military usually looks at the AFQT (Armed Forced Qualification Test) score, which is a compilation of four of the 10 subtests: paragraph comprehension, word knowledge, mathematics knowledge and arithmetic reasoning. The higher the AFQT score, the more likely a soldier is to get the military position he wants.