What Is a GT Score? The Army's General Technical Score Explained
A GT score is the ASVAB's General Technical composite, the military's job-qualification number. See how it is computed and why 110 is the key threshold.
Dr. Russell T. WarneChief Scientist
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A GT score, short for "General Technical," is a line score computed from ASVAB subtests that the Army and Marine Corps use to decide which jobs a service member qualifies for. In the Army it combines Verbal Expression (word knowledge plus paragraph comprehension) with Arithmetic Reasoning. It is not the same thing as the AFQT percentile that determines whether you can enlist at all. The classic gateway number is 110: that is the minimum GT for applying to become a warrant officer and for many of the Army's most competitive jobs.
GT score vs. AFQT: two different numbers
The ASVAB produces one enlistment gate and many job gates. The AFQT is the enlistment gate: a percentile from four subtests (arithmetic reasoning, math knowledge, word knowledge, and paragraph comprehension) normed against a national sample of American youth. Line scores such as GT are the job gates: service-specific combinations that classify you into military occupational specialties. We cover the full system in our guide to military IQ and the ASVAB.
How the GT score is computed
• Army: GT = VE + AR, where VE (Verbal Expression) is derived from Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension and AR is Arithmetic Reasoning. That formula appears in the Army Research Institute's validation report on ASVAB composites, and the score is expressed on an Army standard-score scale rather than as a percentile.
• Marine Corps: A different formula: Word Knowledge + Paragraph Comprehension + Arithmetic Reasoning + Mechanical Comprehension, with a maximum of 151. Marine Corps guidance itself warns against confusing its GT with other services' versions.
Because the metric is a standard-score scale normed on military populations, a GT of 110 is not an IQ of 110, even though the numbers feel similar. What a score means always depends on the scale and the norm group, a point our piece on interpreting an IQ score explains in depth.
What a GT score unlocks
• Warrant officer: Applying to commission as a warrant officer requires a GT of at least 110, per the Army's own reporting on its Basic Skills Education Program.
• Special Forces: The 18-series Special Forces MOS requires GT 110 under DA PAM 611-21 (the requirement rose from 107 in 2015). GoArmy currently labels this the "TECH" score of 110 on its Special Forces page.
• Technical specialties: Contracting NCO (51C), for example, requires GT 110 with no waiver authorized, per DA PAM 611-21.
Not every demanding job runs on GT: intelligence analyst (35F), for instance, is gated on the ST line score instead. But GT is the composite most often treated as the military's shorthand for general trainability.
How soldiers raise their GT score
Serving members do not retake the ASVAB itself; they take the AFCT, the in-service version of the same test. The Army's Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP) is a refresher course in math and English aimed at soldiers with GT scores of 109 or below, and the Army reports that the average GT gain after the course is 19 points. Study approaches that work for the entrance test work here too, as we outline in how to practice for the ASVAB.
Is the GT score an IQ score?
It is the most IQ-like number the ASVAB produces, because it is built almost entirely from verbal and quantitative reasoning, the most g-loaded parts of the battery. Research on military samples has long shown that the general factor extracted from the ASVAB does most of the predictive work for training success and job performance. Frey and Detterman even showed that g extracted from the ASVAB correlates .82 with SAT scores. But the GT metric is not a deviation IQ: the scale, the norm group, and the purpose all differ. If you want a modern reasoning score on a true IQ scale, normed on the general population, you can take the RIOT IQ test online.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good GT score?
110 or above opens most doors, including warrant officer applications and Special Forces eligibility. Scores below 110 can be raised through the AFCT after preparation.
What is the highest GT score?
There is no single published ceiling for the Army version; official conversion tables run to roughly 160. The Marine Corps GT has a listed maximum of 151.
Is a GT score the same as an IQ?
No. GT is a standard score on a military scale normed against military populations. It measures similar reasoning abilities, but the numbers are not interchangeable with IQ points.
Can I retake the test to raise my GT?
Yes. Active-duty service members take the AFCT, and programs like BSEP exist specifically to prepare soldiers for it.
References
1. Ree, M. J., & Earles, J. A. (1991). Predicting training success: Not much more than g. Personnel Psychology, 44(2), 321-332. doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1991.tb00961.x
2. Frey, M. C., & Detterman, D. K. (2004). Scholastic assessment or g? The relationship between the Scholastic Assessment Test and general cognitive ability. Psychological Science, 15(6), 373-378. doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00687.x
3. McLaughlin, D. H., Rossmeissl, P. G., Wise, L. L., Brandt, D. A., & Wang, M. (1984). Validation of current and alternative Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) area composites (ARI Technical Report 651). U.S. Army Research Institute. govinfo.gov
4. U.S. Army. (2023, November 1). Army's BSEP class helping service members achieve their career goals one GT score at a time. army.mil
Hero photo: soldiers in a Basic Skills Education Program class at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 2023. U.S. Army photo by Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, public domain.
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