Frequently Asked Questions About the Advancement Exam
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These are the most frequently asked questions about the Navy Advancement exam enlisted Sailors ask. Inquiries include questions about the Active Duty and Reserve side and include E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6 and E7. If you have more specific questions please check with your admin or chain of command. Someone will have an answer!
Please note that these faqs are more related to the exam itself.
The NWAE score provides an unbiased factor for the Final Multiple Score (FMS) algorithm and helps rank order qualified enlisted candidates for advancement consideration. All candidates who take an NWAE are to have met necessary eligibility requirements for advancement and have been recommended by their CO/OIC.
Active Duty (AD) and Training and Readiness of the Reserves (TAR) personnel are administered enlisted Navy-wide advancement examinations (NWAEs) for Active Duty cycles. Navy Reserve and Canvasser Recruiter personnel, to include all candidates serving on voluntary recall or mobilization, are administered enlisted NWAEs for SELRES cycles.
*Reference BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), Table 6-1.
Prior to taking an NWAE, you must meet all eligibility requirements for the next higher paygrade, along with meeting your Time-in- Rate requirement and have the promotion recommendation of your Commanding Officer / Officer-in-Charge (CO / OIC). Check box 45 on your Evaluation Report to see your CO's recommendation for promotion. Chapter 2 of BUPERSINST 1430.16 (series) has specific details on eligibility requirements for advancement.
Also, it is critical that your security clearance is up-todate (if required for your rating) prior to taking the exam; many exams are invalidated due to security clearances. Check with your division Chief Petty Officer (CPO), Command Career Counselor (CCC), or your Educational Services Officer (ESO) to see if you need to meet any additional mandatory requirements prior to taking your exam.
*Reference BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), Chapter 2 and Table 2-1.
Prior to participating in a Navy-Wide advancement examination (NWAE) cycle, different Education Services Officers (ESOs) and members are responsible for preparation of the electronic EAW (Advancement in Rate or Change of Rating (Worksheet) NETPDC 1430/3 (Rev. 09-20)) for each candidate participating in an advancement examination cycle (E4 through E7), including Limited Duty Officer (LDO) Program candidates. The EAW lists required advancement eligibility data elements and elements used in calculating the Final Multiple Score (FMS). All Sailors must verify their EAW through their Assistant Educational Services Officer (AESO). DO NOT take this lightly. This is YOUR career and YOU should ensure that you know what you are signing since every point counts.
*Electronic EAWs are auto-generated only for REGULAR TIME-IN-RATE (TIR) ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES, (E6 & E7). EARLY PROMOTE (EP) TIR WAIVER ELIGIBLE CANDIDATE electronic EAW must be manually created for each exam cycle for which member is eligible as an EP TIR WAIVER ELIGIBLE CANDIDATE.
Your (E4 and E5) PMA uses only the Promotion Recommendation block (Block 45) from evaluations in the current paygrade. Your (E6 and E7) RSCA PMA uses RSCA from the Promotion Recommendation block (Block 43) from evaluations in the current paygrade. Use only the evaluations that fall within the prescribed dates outlined in the applicable advancement exam cycle NAVADMIN.
For E4, your Education Services Officer (ESO) uses evaluations from the past 8 to 9 months. For E5, the past 14 to 15 months are used. For E6 and E7, the past 36 months are used. Refer to BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), chapter 3, for PMA calculation and NAVADMIN 312/18 for RSCA PMA calculation.
*Electronic EAW PMA / RSCA PMA are auto-populated from NSIPS.
*References BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), chapter 3 for PMA and NAVADMIN 312/18 for RSCA PMA.
Navy-wide advancement exam raw scores are converted to norm-referenced standard scores (SS). SS is a reflection (numeric representation) of how well candidates do compared to candidate peers taking the same exam. The SS range is 20 to 80, with a score of 50 representing a candidate who fell in the middle of the raw score distribution. SS changes from exam to exam since the average computations are based on the peer group at the time the particular exam is given. There are occurrences where the highest scoring candidate does not have a SS of 80 and the lowest scoring candidate does not have a SS of 20. These occurrences are totally dependent on the peer group taking the exam.
In general, an SS of 80 indicates a candidate scored higher than 99% of the candidates taking the exact same exam (i.e. 99th percentile). A SS of 70 indicates candidate scored higher than 98% of all candidates, 60 indicates 84%, 50 indicates 50%, 40 indicates 16%, 30 indicates 2%, and 20 indicates 1%.
It is the SS, not the raw score (number of questions answered correctly) that is a component of the Final Multiple Score (FMS). Lastly – the FMS is used to rank order candidates, using the combination of all elements: exam SS, evaluations (PMA or RSCA PMA), awards, education, PNA points and service-in-paygrade. The FMS for E7 candidates is based on only two elements - SS and RSCA PMA.
Awards computed in the E4/5/6 Final Multiple Score (FMS) must be approved or earned prior to the day of the regularly scheduled examination. Awards with only a month/year date are presumed to have an ending date on the last day of the respective month. The maximum award points E4/5 candidates can earn is 10 points. There is a maximum of 12 points for E6 candidates.
Always make sure your awards are correctly listed in the Navy Department of Awards Web Service (NDAWS) AND current award points are correct on your exam worksheet AND your exam answer sheet.
*Reference BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), par 307, associated notes, and Table 3-1.
If you did not advance to the next-higher paygrade in an E4/5/6 Navy-wide advancement exam cycle, PNA points may be added to your Final Multiple Score. PNA points can be awarded for E5/6 if you pass the advancement exam and demonstrate superior rating knowledge and for E4/5/6 if you demonstrate superior performance.
PNA points come from two sources, Exam Standard Score (SS) and Performance Mark Average (PMA) or Reporting Senior's Cumulative Average (RSCA) PMA. E4/5/6 can receive up to 1.5 points for PMA/RSCA PMA and E5/6 can receive 1.5 points for SS for a maximum of 3.0 points for E5/6 and 1.5 points for E4 per advancement cycle.
Only the PNA points from the most recent three consecutive exam cycles in the same paygrade are used, so 9.0 points is the maximum PNA points for E5/6 and 4.5 points for E4.
Your PNA points for PMA/RSCA PMA must fall within the top 25% of ranked performance mark averages by competing group. Your SS must also fall in the top 25% of standard scores.
*Reference BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), paragraph 703.b.(2) and NAVADMIN 312/18, par 2.c.
Sailors competing for advancement to paygrades E4 through E6 will be awarded two points for an accredited associate's degree, and four points for an accredited baccalaureate degree or above. Education points will be awarded for the highest degree held, and will increase the total overall Final Multiple Score (FMS) points.
To receive Education Points, your degree must be reflected in the Joint Services Transcript (JST). Degrees can only be entered into JST that are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education.
For additional information regarding transcripts, log into Joint Services Transcript or email jst@doded.mil.
To allow sufficient time for the JST Operations Center to process all documents, transcripts for Sailors competing for advancement to E4 through E6 MUST be received no later than the first day of the month in which their advancement exam occurs. (i.e., Active Duty Cycle = 1 Mar and 1 Sep, SELRES Cycle = 1 Feb and 1 Aug).
*Reference BUPERSINST 1430.16 (Series), par paragraph 703.b.(3).
The Final Multiple Score (FMS) is a "Whole Person Concept" approach that considers your Navy-wide advancement examination (NWAE) standard score (objective metric that measures rating knowledge) along with other factors to ensure the right Sailors are advanced. The other factors considered for E4/5/6 are Performance Mark Average (PMA) or Reporting Senior's Cumulative Average (RSCA) PMA (how well you perform in your job and as a Sailor), Service in Paygrade (experience in your job), Awards (your accomplishments in your job and as a Sailor), Education Points (self-improvement through education (accredited college degrees), and PNA points (credit for doing great on previous NWAE cycles in a quota-limited rate).
For those who are CPO board eligible, the FMS is computed using RSCA PMA and NWAE standard score only.
OPNAV N132 provides advancement quotas for the Active Duty cycles and BUPERS-32 provides advancement quotas for the SELRES cycles. Some ratings in a paygrade have limited quotas, so the Navy works hard to advance the most qualified Sailors using the Whole Person Concept.
*Sailors may also review prior exam cycle and plan for future exam cycle Final Multiple Score (FMS) using the FMS Calculator App.
NAC uses the results from Navy-wide advancement examinations (NWAEs) to assess knowledge at the next-higher paygrade and compute an individual Sailor's Final Multiple Score (FMS). The FMS is used to compare all Sailors in the same exam rate. NAC rank orders Sailors - the highest FMS score is the number one Sailor for advancement, second highest is number two, etc. - so the most qualified candidates are advanced given the number of vacancies (quotas) in a particular exam rate. The FMS is made up of different factors, but it's key to remember that sustained superior performance is also a primary factor for advancement.
Exam Cycle Results Profile Sheets provide exam candidates with information on Navy-wide advancement examination (NWAE) performance as compared with other candidates who took the same NWAE.
E4 through E6 candidate Profile Sheet provides (for both YOU and AVERAGE OF CANDIDATES IN YOUR RATE):
E7 candidate Profile Sheet provides (for both YOU and AVERAGE OF CANDIDATES IN YOUR RATE):
NOTE: Some of the items above will not be shown on some Profile Sheets (e.g., for candidates who are in a fail status, have a discrepancy, or have been invalidated).
Additionally, E7/8/9 profile sheets report selection board or advancement status. Once exam results are published, profile sheets can be accessed on the Navy Advancement Center's (NAC) link on MyNavy Portal (MNP) to view and print, or Educational Services Officers (ESOs) can access profile sheets on NEAS Web (https:/neas.ncdc.navy.mil, select NEAS Rpts - Individual Profile Sheets) (a Common Access Card (CAC) log in is required at each site). Profile sheets are available on line for two years.
Yes. The profile sheet tells you the number of questions in each examination section and the number of questions you answered correctly in each section. It also gives you a percentile which reflects how well you did in each examination section in relation to your peers who took the exact same examination.
For example: A percentile of 80% indicates that you scored higher than 80% of the candidates answering questions in the section. Percentile is not the same as percent. Percentile reflects relative standing in a peer group. Percent just gives what proportion of the items was answered correctly.
DISC means there is a Discrepancy with your advancement information and your Final Multiple Score cannot be calculated until this error is corrected through your Educational Services Officer (ESO) and the Navy Advancement Center (NAC) with supporting documentation. A discrepancy can keep an otherwise qualified Sailor from being advanced.
The most common discrepancies are:
*Ref: BUPERSINST 1430/16 (Series), Table 7-2.
The number one discrepancy for advancement eligible Reservists is a Performance Mark Average (PMA) or Reporting Senior’s Cumulative Average (RSCA) PMA calculation error; your Educational Services Officers (ESOs) should ensure PMA / RSCA PMA is calculated accurately on the Enlisted Advancement Worksheet (EAW) for each exam cycle. Also, Navy Advancement Center (NAC) sees DOD ID and name errors on exam sheets - this error falls directly on the member for correction when filling out the answer sheets.
Finally, some Reservists get a Wrong Path of Advancement (WPA) discrepancy Why is that? When a Reserve member is on Active Duty, information is often taken out of or is not updated properly in NSIPS/IMAPMIS. This can easily be corrected without any action required by the NAC, but commands must make the NSIPS/IMAPMIS correction locally.
Check with your ESOs to make sure your information is up to date!
Tonyo
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