The Officer Aptitude Rating — the three ASTB-E subtests that Navy OCS and other non-aviation officer programs run on.
When’s your Navy OAR?
You’ll get a countdown and a daily pace — a study signal, never a pass guarantee.
The OAR is not a separate test — it is the first three subtests of the Aviation Selection Test Battery, scored on their own for candidates who are not applying to fly. Navy OCS applicants, and a range of other non-aviation officer programs, sit exactly these three: Math Skills, Reading Comprehension, and Mechanical Comprehension. Aviation applicants take the same three plus the rest of the ASTB-E.
The thing worth knowing before you study is that all three are COMPUTER ADAPTIVE. NAMI states the test is drawn from an item library of several hundred items per subtest, that the number and difficulty of questions varies between examinees, and that you cannot skip an item or go back and change an answer. That has two consequences most study plans miss. First, no fixed-length practice test can mirror it, so pacing yourself against a "90-question OAR" is pacing against a version that no longer exists. Second — and this is the Navy’s own advice — random guessing as the clock runs out is usually worse than leaving items unanswered, because the unfinished-item penalty is often smaller than the damage a string of wrong answers does to an adaptive score.
Adaptive practice is therefore the honest preparation for an adaptive test, which is what Keentune does by default: every question is chosen near your current level and moves with you, and every explanation names the principle and diagnoses the trap rather than just marking you wrong. Note also that no calculator is permitted — relevant formulas are provided — so the Math Skills work that pays is mental arithmetic and algebra you can run on scrap paper.
Or take a timed drill — 20 questions, 25 minutes
A focused drill on one section under a real clock — not a full practice exam, and never a predicted Navy OAR score.
What’s on the Navy OAR exam
Subtests
3 — the first three of the ASTB-E’s seven
Format
Computer adaptive (APEX). No fixed item count; items vary by examinee
Time
1–2 hours for the OAR; 2–3¼ hours for the full ASTB-E
Calculator
Not permitted — relevant formulas are provided, plus scrap paper
Cost
None
Scores
Generated immediately on completion; your most recent attempt REPLACES all previous scores, even if earlier ones were higher
Minimum score
Set per program, not by the test — see NPC Program Authorizations 106/107, MCO 1542.1I, or your recruiter
Math Skills Test (MST)
Math skills and aptitude, calculator-free. Adaptive.
Reading Comprehension Test (RCT)
Extracting meaning from written material. Adaptive.
Mechanical Comprehension Test (MCT)
Mechanical concepts and simple machines. Adaptive.
Aviation and Nautical Information Test (ANIT)
ASTB-E only — not part of the OAR, and not practised here.
Naval Aviation Trait Facet Inventory (NATFI)
ASTB-E only — a personality inventory with no correct answers.
Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM)
ASTB-E only — three-dimensional thinking, dexterity, eye-hand coordination and divided attention. Cannot be practised in multiple choice.
Subtests, adaptive format, timing, calculator and scoring rules verified against the NAMI ASTB-E FAQ (med.navy.mil), 2026-08-22
Practice by section
Math Skills (MST)
Arithmetic, fractions, roots and exponents, solving for variables, and the geometry of angles, area and perimeter — all without a calculator.
Practice aligned to the three OAR subtests. Keentune is independent study practice — not affiliated with or endorsed by the US Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard or NMOTC/NAMI, not a copy of the official test, and no score or program selection is guaranteed. It does not attempt a full-length replica: the OAR is computer adaptive, so the Navy publishes no fixed item count, and it does not cover the four ASTB-E subtests outside the OAR — in particular the Performance Based Measures battery, which tests stick-and-throttle dexterity and divided attention and cannot be practised in multiple choice at all. ASTB, ASTB-E and OAR are US Navy program names, used here for identification only.
What is the difference between the OAR and the ASTB-E?
They are the same test. The ASTB-E has seven subtests; the first three — Math Skills, Reading Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension — are scored together as the Officer Aptitude Rating. If you are applying to a non-aviation program such as Navy OCS you may only need the OAR; aviation applicants sit the whole battery. Your recruiter or program administrator is the one who tells you which you need.
How many questions are on the OAR?
There is no fixed number, and that is the single most useful thing to know about it. The three OAR subtests are computer adaptive: each is drawn from a library of several hundred items, harder questions follow correct answers, and the count and difficulty differ between examinees. Study guides quoting an exact question count are describing the older fixed-form version. You also cannot skip an item or return to change an answer.
Should I guess if I am running out of time?
The Navy’s own guidance is no — work briskly, but do not guess randomly as the clock expires. There is a penalty for leaving too many items unanswered, and it scales with how many you leave; but on an adaptive test a burst of random wrong answers usually costs more than that penalty does. Note the penalty is never applied when a subtest ends on its own before time runs out.
Can I use a calculator?
No. The math is designed to be done without one, relevant formulas are supplied, and you get scrap paper. That makes mental arithmetic and clean algebra by hand the highest-value thing to practise — which is exactly what the Math Skills sections here drill.
Can I retake it, and does a better old score still count?
No — your most recent attempt becomes your score of record and replaces all previous scores, even if you scored higher before. That is worth planning around: treat each sitting as the one that counts. Retest eligibility and waiting periods are set by program policy rather than by the test, so confirm them with your recruiter before scheduling.
How does Keentune practice map to the OAR?
Each of the three sections above drills the underlying skill adaptively, meeting you near your current level and moving with you — the same shape as the test itself. These are original questions written from public sources, never real OAR items, and Keentune does not attempt a full-length replica because the Navy publishes no fixed item count to replicate.
All exam, test, and product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and reference only. Keentune is independent study practice — not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by any of these organizations.