Comparison of Alternative Criteria and Weighting Methods for the Enlisted Advancement System

The Navy Enlisted Advancement System is based on several components which are differentially weighted in arriving at a final ordered listing of the candidates. The components used--technical knowledge exam, on-job performance marks, time in grade and in the Navy, and awards--vary greatly in their statistical properties, and thus the task of combining them in accordance with the policy-designated weights becomes complicated and difficult. The outcome of the advancement process--that is, the actual selection of those to be advanced-- has been found to be more a function of the statistical peculiarities of the components used and of the methods used in combining them, than of published policy. The report describes a comparison of several approaches to combining scores and weighting components used in the advancement competition to Pay Grades E4-E7. The qualifications of candidates who were selected, and who would have been selected had other cutting scores and weighting methods been used, were compared. The proportionate influences of the components were found to vary widely as a function of advancement opportunity, cutting scores used, and pay grade.