This report examines the criterion-related validity of the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences'(ARI's) non-cognitive measures for predicting various types of performance, attitudinal, and retention criteria for Soldiers who required waivers for entry. We conducted analyses to evaluate the prediction provided by each instrument in isolation, as well as additional prediction beyond that provided by the Armed Forces Qualification Test, or AFQT-the primary cognitive measure used by the Army for making selection decisions. All analyses were conducted using Soldier data from ARI's Army Class Longitudinal Validation database and Tier One Performance Screen Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (TOPS IOT&E) database, coupled with waiver data obtained from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). The extensive analyses conducted in this research provide evidence that ARI's non- cognitive measures are as valid for Soldiers with waivers as they are for Soldiers without waivers. Although differences in validity do appear, these differences are small; if anything, as a whole, these non-cognitive measures appear to be very slightly more valid for Soldiers with waivers, although it depends upon the specific measure in question.

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Introduction. Background -- Objectives of the current project -- Research samples -- Overview of the remainder of the report / Characteristics of waivered vs. non-waivered soldiers. Comparing waivered and non-waivered solders' standing on predictor measures -- Comparing wiavered and non-waivered soldiers' standing on key criteria / Criterion-related validity analyses. Criterion-related validity of predictor measures among waivered and non-waivered soldiers -- Incremental validity of predictor measures among waivered and non-waivered soldiers -- Summary of validity and incremental validity findings / Subgroup difference analyses. Gender differences -- Race/ethnicity differences / Summary and recommendations. Relative standing of soldiers with waivers to soldiers without waivers on key measures -- Relative validity of non-cognitive measures of soldiers with waivers -- Validity of non-cognitive measures by subgroup -- Conclusions and recommendations.