Shut Out of the Military - Today’s High School Education Doesn’t Mean You’re Ready for Today’s Army

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Mali

Examines how U.S. high school preparation affects young people’s ability to qualify for military service. Summarizes evidence from the Army enlistment examination, showing that about one in five high school graduates fail to meet minimum enlistment standards. Highlights racial and ethnic disparities, noting that candidates of color both pass less often and score lower, which limits training, financial rewards, and scholarships. Connects low academic readiness to reduced success in civilian employment, urging educators to provide high-level skills for all students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

To the Point

Key Findings

Closing the Door to Military Service

Impact on Students and the Nation

Challenge for Educators

K - 1 2 P O L I C Y D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 Shut Out of the Military: Today’s High School Education Doesn’t Mean You’re Ready for Today’s Army TO THE POINT f Among young high school graduates, about one in ﬁve do not meet the minimum standard necessary to enlist in the U.S. Army. f On average, young people of color are far more likely not to pass the qualifying exam than other applicants. f Candidates of color who pass often have lower scores than their white peers, excluding them from high-level training and advancement opportunities. f Wide disparities in eligibility by race/ethnicity between and within states provide areport card on how state educational systems do—and don’t—prepare different groups of students. f Because the test assesses many occupational skills, low scores mean these applicants are also unlikely to succeed in the civilian workforce. Military careers have provided generations of Americans with pathways to successful adulthood as well as honor, discipline, and achievement. Unfortunately, today too many high school graduates who seek the opportunity to serve don’t make the cut. Just as secondary schools are failing to prepare many students for college and civilian careers, so too are they failing to prepare young men and women—particularly young people of color—for military service. For these young Americans, a high school diploma does not qualify them to “be all that you can be.” © Copyright 2010 The Education Trust. All rights reserved. CLOSING THE DOOR TO MILITARY SERVICE For generations, military service has done a tremendous amount of good for many of our young people. While defending our nation, they’ve mastered skills and knowledge that have served them—and the rest of us—well. They’ve worked on teams that exemplify honor, service, and achievement. That’s why many young Americans aim for careers in the armed services. This study shows that many of them will be denied that ambition. Data from the Army’s enlistment examination show that, for too many of our young people, the Army and the opportunities that it offers are out of reach. This is true for men and women of all races and ethnicities, but especially for young people of color. That’s because they don’t have the reading, mathematics, science, and problem-solving abilities that it takes to pass the enlistment exam, which is designed speciﬁcally to identify the skills and knowledge needed tobe a good soldier. What’s more, we’ve found that even when young people of color pass the enlistment test they, on average, do so with lower scores than do white candidates. Since these scores determine eligibility for training opportunities,ﬁnancial rewards, and scholarships, this means that young people of color have more limited opportunities in the Army once they get in than do their white peers. These ﬁndings are troubling for the young people themselves. Because they are ill-prepared academically they are denied opportunities for service, growth, and learning. And the ﬁndings are troubling for our nation. Now—more than ever—we need a military prepared to out-think, as well as out-ﬁght, our adversaries. But the ﬁndings should trouble high school educators most of all, because this shatters the comfortable myth that academically underprepared students will ﬁnd in the military a second-chance pathway to success. For too long, we educators have dismissed worries about the low academic achievement of“those students” with the thought that “if they’re not prepared for college or career, a stint in the service will do ‘em some good.” Actually,“those students” will not have the military as a choice. Just as they have not been prepared to enter college or ﬁnd a good job in the civilian world, they have not been prepared to qualify for the military. The question to those of us who call ourselves educators is simple: Will we step up and squarely meet the challenge of ensuring that all of our students get the high-level skills a

FAQs

What does the document say about enlistment readiness among high school graduates?

It states that about one in five young high school graduates do not meet the minimum standard necessary to enlist in the U.S. Army.

How does the document describe differences by race and ethnicity?

It reports that young people of color are more likely to fail the qualifying exam and, even when they pass, often score lower than white candidates.

Why does the report argue that educators should be most concerned?

It says the findings break the belief that academically underprepared students will get a second-chance pathway to success through the military, and stresses that schools must ensure students gain the skills needed for success beyond high school.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Mali