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Computing NSS Quesstimate

crateofthunder

Registered User
Ok, I went into student control and got a lesson on NSS this morning. I will pass along this information strictly on a "guess" basis and am in no way claiming to be able to calculate your exact NSS because of the previous six months obviously being a factor. Another disclaimer, one should not worry about his/her NSS, just try as hard as possible on every flight! That being all said, here is what I found:

Take your total points earned for each flight and total mif for all the items you were graded on in that flight. Sum up all your scores and all your mifs for all completed flights. Your total score divided by your total mif will give you a numerical value somewhere over 1 (e.g.: 1.09, 1.11, 1.15, 1.19, etc...), which we will call your ratio.

Numbers from student control: 1.15 = 60 for those selecting last week
1.13 = 52 for those selecting last week

given those two pairs of numbers, you get the equation:

NSS=400*(ratio)-400

Now obviously this isn't going to be spot on, but seems to work within a few points and is the way in which student control will calculate your "projected NSS"...take it for what its worth!!
 

FLY_USMC

Well-Known Member
pilot
Yay for me, I'm going to get a 112 NSS if you calculation is correct. Not poking fun, but something has to be wrong if it says I'm going to get a 112. I actually know my NSS already, here in AF land we get MIF automatically calcuated for us after each block of training on our gradesheets, and, though it was 3 weeks ago and yes it was pretty high, it was by no means 112.
 

luckechance

Registered User
Fly_USMC, I think the bell curve nature of the beast might explain that. Thanks for the gouge BTW. I've been here at Corpus for a couple of months and haven't bothered to check it. I figure the flying is what counts and the grades will take care of themselves.
 

crateofthunder

Registered User
Sorry guys, I meant 400*ratio-400
That means you had a ratio of 1.28? That is very good...congrats. However, the curve is not exactly linear, especially towards the outer edges, this might explain your "112", still you should be upwards of a 70, right?
But, this did come from Leon in VT-3 STUCON, so it should apply to you
 

FLY_USMC

Well-Known Member
pilot
Yeah it was upper 70's, but if the stucon guy let you know that, I'm sure it's probaby good gouge, at least of some sort, have to pass that on!
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
So that it doesn't get asked over and over again.........<stick>.
 

BOMBSonHAWKEYES

Registered User
pilot
FLY_USMC said:
Yeah it was upper 70's, but if the stucon guy let you know that, I'm sure it's probaby good gouge, at least of some sort, have to pass that on!

Yeah, I thought that was awsome. In the 70's. Until someone told me it was my RAW score, and I can only tell you the actuall thing was well below that...AF land RAW = 0-100, Navy land, 20-80. Booyah on the upper 70's though!
 

crateofthunder

Registered User
Fly_USMC,

is Air Force land VT-3 or Vance? If at Vance, I won't even pretend to know how your grades are calculated, however, this should work for most people at Whiting/Corpus
 

jamnww

Hangar Four
pilot
It may just be me but the 400 seems to me to be the "squadron multiplier" that I hear so much about...in which case it is different for each squadron...Corpus being lower, Whiting being higher and so forth...
 

Dennis

C-17 Co
crateofthunder, etc:

I selecetd on 27 April. VT-3. USAF.

1.145 score/mif ratio (645 or so total above mif)
96 test average (88 systems, 100 wx, 100 ifr) = acad. NSS of 59
overall NSS: 62

fwiw, 1.145*400-400=58

The other two AF guys I selected with also had 62s. They had slightly smaller ratios because they were accelerated (skipped early RI stuff), but also got a bump in NSS from that.

I kept track of my score/mif for each and every flight on an excel spreadsheet. My own calculations were only a couple points off, mostly because I did them right after I got my scoresheet and sometimes I'd be too tired to count straight. It might sound like a dumb thing that I did, but I did it because I found it frustrating to not know exactly how well I was doing. I'm a math geek at heart, ya know. I didn't want 38s (I chose T-1s) but I wanted to know in the end if I was in control of my own fate. I used that as a motivator to do the best that I could on each and every flight. Call me a dork if you want! But it worked for me. Better to compete against yourself than the guy sitting next to you.

Anytime someone in fams asks me how I did in fams and what it means for their NSS (because guys know I tracked my scores) I usually just ask them if they feel like they know what they're doing. Are they having fun? Because if you don't feel like you know what you're doing and you're not having fun, you're shooting yourself in the foot before you start.

If the math geek in you absolutely needs to crack the NSS code, have at it. But its far more important to know what you're doing and have fun.
 

ben

not missing sand
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
crateofthunder said:
NSS=400*(ratio)-400


For my squadron (at least right now), using 300 in that same formula is accurate within a point or two.
 

BrittO

Registered User
pilot
Here it is

Ok guys...I just started class in Meridian and finished primary with a 61 with a 1.173 score overall. The NSS in primary from what i was told by the NAPP O-5 here in the wing is based SOLEY on the previous 200 people who selected before you; that is to say you take those 200 people, plot a bell curve with the peak (mean) being a 50 NSS. Every month that bell curve shifts in either direction based on that previous months selectors ( a month with Chuck Yeager types will lower the NSS for all those who select in the month after them for example). Remember it is no good looking at your raw score (1.17 1.15 etc ) and comparing it to a guys in a different squadron. The best policy is really to do as best as you can and get your NSS at the end, so whatever you get you would have no what if i tried harder issues). Anyways..i'm done..good luck for those in Primary....if you get Jets..come to Meridian..it is FAR better than K-Rock, but Jets either way get all the Navy's money....the fascilities here are like air force.
 

HUDcripple

Registered User
pilot
If anyone stayed awake in statistics class this will make sense:

Your NSS is based on a statistical distribution with a mean score of 50 and a standard deviation of 10.
Average guy is 50
68% will be between 40 and 60 (60 = better than 84%)
95% will be between 30 and 70 (70 = better than 97%)
99.7% will be between 20 and 80 (and the Navy just makes those the max and min scores)

The Navy uses this for a lot of tests (NSS = Navy Standard Score) When you are a division officer you will see enlisted advancement exams scored the same way.
 
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