DLAB case studies
DLAB · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) is a language-aptitude test associated with the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), the U.S. Department of Defense institution located at the Presidio of Monterey, California. The DLAB case studies are 5 cases and about 4,469 words.
1A 92 Against a 100 Threshold: Waiver Pressure and a Disrupted Audio Section
Specialist Ramos, 22, a native Spanish speaker with a GT composite of 108, takes the DLAB at a MEPS testing room that is under renovation. Her recruiter wants her in the Arabic course, which starts in five weeks.
855 words, about 4 min278 Then 96: A Retest Gain That Has to Be Explained Before It Is Used
Candidate Kowalski takes the DLAB twice. First attempt: 78, at 0630 at the end of a 12-hour overnight shift, on a walk-in slot he accepted because it was the only opening before his reenlistment window closed.
844 words, about 4 min3The Prep Course That Raises Scores Without Changing Graduation Rates
A training battalion adds a three-week "language aptitude foundations" block to its pre-accession pipeline. It is built from publicly described test structure: students drill invented-language rule sets, practise stress-pattern discrimination on synthetic audio, and learn answer-elimination habits for the visual rule section.
898 words, about 4 min4Accommodation Request on a Test That Measures Listening Itself
A candidate applying for a Persian-Farsi seat submits audiological documentation of a central auditory processing disorder. The audiologist's letter states that her hearing thresholds are normal and that her deficit is specific to rapid phonetic transitions and speech-in-noise recognition.
947 words, about 5 min5Forty Seats, Sixty Applicants, Three Language Categories
A language program has 40 seats and 60 applicants. Seats: 12 Chinese (Category IV, published minimum 100), 14 Russian (Category III, minimum 90), 14 Spanish (Category I, minimum 85).
925 words, about 5 min