The ASVAB includes eight categories, each with a different number of questions and testing time. The shortest part of the ASVAB lasts nine minutes and covers electronics information; you will answer 20 questions about electricity and electronics. Four sections last 11 minutes: general science, word knowledge, auto and shop information and mathematics knowledge. General science covers physical and biological sciences in 25 questions. Word knowledge handles topics such as grammar and vocabulary with 25 questions. Auto and shop, 25 questions, tests knowledge of automobiles, tools and building. The 25-question mathematics knowledge section tests comprehension of high school math.
Paragraph comprehension tests your ability to pull information from written material with 15 questions in 13 minutes. Lasting 19 minutes, mechanical comprehension has 25 questions on mechanical and physical knowledge. The longest section of the test, arithmetic reasoning, lasts 36 minutes and has 30 questions based on solving math problems.
You can take self-assessment practice quizzes for the ASVAB in a multitude of subjects on Test Prep Review's website. Rather than dividing the subjects into the eight broad topics featured on the test, the website delves deeper into the topics. Quiz topics include areas such as comma usage, fractions and square roots, reading for the main idea and two vocabulary sections. After you test yourself in these areas, you can use your scores to determine your weakest areas. Test Prep Review's Self-Improvement Directory offers links to outside sources that can help you improve your knowledge in weak areas. Then you can re-test yourself.
The website Study Guide Zone offers a comprehensive explanation of the test as well as a large study guide and individual section practice that you may download. The study guide is 42 pages long and filled with both tips and strategies. Test question examples pop up throughout this guide so that you aren't caught off-guard with material on the test. On top of tips for taking the ASVAB, the guide also explains certain concepts that appear often on the test, such as mathematics terms, including "average" and "mean."
Because the ASVAB has a military source and is used for military career assessment, it makes sense that Military.com offers free ASVAB guidance. That website explains the test and its significance for a military career and also offers tips and strategies for test-takers. Military.com has six practice tests for the ASVAB. Three of the tests are short form and have only 40 questions. The other three tests cover the full 200 questions. Seeing these full-length practice tests straight from the source should help you to know what to anticipate on the actual test.
Public libraries offer study guides that can help you prepare for the test. Titles include "Master the ASVAB Basics" from Peterson Publication's, "ASVAB for Dummies" and Scott Ostrow's "ASVAB." These guides explain the ASVAB in detail and offer multiple practice scenarios.