You are researching on the ASVAB test as you are going to take it, and now you might be confused among many different unfamiliar terms, particularly the P&P ASVAB. However, what you have found so far on the Internet is only fragmentary information that might make you even more at a loss. So what exactly is the P&P ASVAB? Do not go any further as this blog post is made for you. Scrolling down and your question will be solved.

What is the P&P ASVAB?

P&P ASVAB (stands for Paper and Paper Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is a version of the ASVAB test. The P&P ASVAB is a multiple-choice test administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command to determine whether you are qualified for the U.S military enlistment. Besides, this test is also included in the Career Exploration Program designed for high-school and post secondary school students to help them explore their suitable working path.

Beside the P&P, CAT-ASVAB is also a version of the ASVAB test. To know more about this version of the ASVAB test, you can go to CAT-ASVAB.

P&P ASVAB structure

Regarding the P&P ASVAB structure, this test has 9 subtests ranging among 4 domains which are: Verbal, Math, Science, Technical and Spatial. Each subtest, due to its distinct nature, has a different number of questions and time limits. Specifically, this list below will provide details about each sector.

Arithmetic Reasoning: 36 minutes and 30 questions
Assembling Objects: 16 minutes and 25 questions
Auto and Shop Information: 11 minutes and 25 questions
Electronics Information: 9 minutes and 20 questions
General Science: 11 minutes and 25 questions
Mathematics Knowledge: 24 minutes and 25 questions
Mechanical Comprehension: 19 minutes and 25 questions
Paragraph Comprehension: 13 minutes and 15 questions
Word Knowledge: 11 minutes and 35 questions

P&P ASVAB: The pros & cons

It can not be denied that each version of the ASVAB test has its own advantages and disadvantages which might be drawn from their differences in structure, time limits, etc,… Particularly, let’s consider the P&P ASVAB’s merits and its downsides.

Pros

The P&P ASVAB allows the test-takers to review their answer again, so they can change their option. It is worth keeping in mind that though you are permitted to check or change your answers in the P&P ASVAB, you can not go back to the previous subtest.
In the P&P ASVAB, the level of difficulty remains relatively consistent. It does not mean that all the questions in the P&P ASVAB are all totally easy or difficult; on the contrary, easy questions and hard ones will be evenly mixed and stay at average level of difficulty.

Cons

The P&P; however, is not without drawbacks. Now let’s see the disadvantages that it can cause:

The P&P has shorter time limit than the CAT version, 149 minutes and 198 minutes respectively
It might take quite a long time to receive result of the P&P ASVAB test as the recruiters are permitted to mark the test no later than 72 hours after it is finished
The P&P ASVAB is marked by an optical mark scanning machine that might not score your answer if it is too vague

However, this can only be considered as a downside of the P&P test as you are not careful when circling the answer; therefore, remember to use a proper pencil and circle the answer dark enough.

FAQs

Is P&P ASVAB available at MEPS?

No, P&P ASVAB is not available at MEPS as MEPS only conducted CAT-ASVAB. You can only take the P&P ASVAB test at METs or high-school and post-secondary school.

Is the P&P ASVAB more difficult than the CAT-ASVAB?

It is commonly believed that the P&P is harder than the CAT-ASVAB. However, it is not totally true. Since the CAT-ASVAB is an adaptive test that the level of difficulty will be adapted to your responses, the question can be harder if you answer the previous correctly; and vice versa. On the other hand, on the P&P ASVAB test, the level of difficulty is consistent throughout the test.

Where to take the P&P ASVAB?

Although the ASVAB test is administered at MEPS, METs and high-schools across the United States, you can only sit for the P&P ASVAB test at some METs and high-schools. This is because MEPS only conducts the computer-based ASVAB test, and although P&P is the most common format taken at MET sites, more MET sites are changing toward utilizing the CAT version.

To get more information Where to take the ASVAB test, you can go to Where do you take the ASVAB test?

Final thoughts

This blog post has just presented a comprehensive picture of the P&P ASVAB test including its structure as well as its advantages and drawbacks. Despite several inconveniences it might cause, the P&P ASVAB is in general worth being taken due to its backtracking’s permission feature. Hope you find this post helpful; otherwise, you can leave other questions below for general discussion.

Table of Contents