You're Going to Bar School From Reporting the Results of a *MILITARY* Test to, uh, THE MILITARY?!

Color me stupid, but why the hell would you even take the ASVAB if you weren't interested in joining the military? It was created to help ID what specialty you'd be suited for in the service. And more to the point, if you're a high school offering a test designed to identify aptitude for military occupational specialties why would you bar schools from releasing the tests to - get this! - the military!?

A first-of-its-kind law bars public high schools in Maryland from automatically sending student scores on a widely used military aptitude test to recruiters, a practice that critics say was giving the armed forces backdoor access to young people without their parents' consent.

School districts around the country have the choice of whether to administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam, and ones that offer it typically pass the scores and students' contact information directly to the military. Topics on the test range from math and reading to knowledge of electronics and automobiles.

The Maryland law, the first in the nation after similar California legislation was vetoed, was signed last month and bars schools from automatically releasing the information to military recruiters. Instead, students, and their parents if they are under 18, will have to decide whether to give the information to the military. The law takes effect in July. One other state, Hawaii, has a similar policy for its schools, but not a law.

By: Brant