What the OAR test is
The Officer Aptitude Rating is not a separate test. It is the score from the first three parts of the ASTB-E: the Math Skills Test, the Reading Comprehension Test and the Mechanical Comprehension Test. Applicants to non-aviation officer programmes, such as Navy Officer Candidate School, can take just these three; aviation applicants take all six parts and get the OAR along with three aviation scores.
You take it online in the APEX system at a Navy officer recruiting station, NROTC unit, Marine Corps Officer Selection Office or military institute. It is free and in English only. Bring photo ID and proof of your Social Security number; phones and smart watches stay outside.
Each part is adaptive. Right answers bring harder questions, you cannot skip or go back, and a part can end before its clock once it has measured you. If time runs out with questions unreached, a penalty is taken off that grows with the number left.
The OAR runs from 20 to 80 and predicts academic performance at OCS. You see it as soon as you finish. The formula is not published; the Navy says only that it is compensatory, so a strong part can make up for a weaker one.
How to prepare for the OAR
Work on all three parts, but not equally:
- Maths: drill arithmetic, algebra, time and distance and probability without a calculator. It is the part with the most to learn.
- Mechanical: learn the few rules most questions rest on (gears, levers, pulleys, fluids, circuits). The reported 15 minutes is the tightest clock.
- Reading: practise rejecting options that are true but not stated. The skill is discipline, not vocabulary.
- Sit all three in a row at least once, so the second and third parts do not catch you tired.
- Plan your attempts. You get three in a lifetime, at least 30 full days apart, and the latest score replaces the rest.
What is a good OAR score?
Most examinees score between 40 and 60, so 50 is a middling score among officer applicants. Minimums differ by programme and service. The Navy sets them in Navy Personnel Command Program Authorizations 106 and 107 and the Marine Corps in Marine Corps Order 1542.1I. As of November 2026, about 35 for Navy OCS and about 40 for Coast Guard OCS are commonly quoted but not officially published, so ask your recruiter for the current figure.
Tips for the real OAR
- Retake only when you expect to do better. Your most recent score counts even if an earlier one was higher.
- Keep a steady pace from the first question. The penalty for unreached questions is real, and the Navy warns that random guessing as time runs out usually costs more.
- Read every option before you choose. There is no going back to change it.
- Use the scrap paper you are given for the maths, and use the formulas provided.
Practise the OAR on CogniPrep
Our OAR Battery runs the Math Skills, Reading Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension tests in that order, each adaptive and on its own clock: up to 30 questions in 30 minutes, up to 20 passages in 30 minutes, then up to 30 questions in 15 minutes. You can stop between parts and carry on within 24 hours. At the end you get a score for each part and an estimated OAR on the 20 to 80 scale. The real formula is not published, so the OAR is our estimate, not an official score.