Comparing practice AFT results without mixing up your records

Two AFT totals are easier to compare when you know what produced them. A practice session, an incomplete set of events and an officially administered record test should not become interchangeable entries in your notes.

Label the purpose of each result

In your own training log, identify whether an entry represents practice, selected events or a record test handled through your unit’s process. Do not infer official status from the fact that you used a calculator or exported a scorecard. Follow current Army policy and your unit’s instructions for official records.

This guide recommends a separate note-taking habit. It does not claim that AFT Ready assigns or certifies a test’s administrative status.

Retain the raw results

Keep event results alongside the calculated points and test date. If a score appears to change unexpectedly, the raw result gives you something to check against the current scoring resources. A total alone cannot tell you whether an improvement came from one event, several events or a data-entry correction.

Write down meaningful differences

Note whether you completed the full event sequence, used the same measurement method, or changed something relevant about the practice setup. Do not turn a casual training result into a precise prediction of your next record test. Where administration or technique is uncertain, ask a qualified person rather than inventing an adjustment to the score.

For example, suppose a hypothetical practice log shows a faster run but a lower total. Compare all raw entries and the scoring settings before deciding that the total is wrong. Another event may have changed, or a time may have been entered incorrectly.

Compare one event as well as the total

Read the event rows side by side. Identify which differences are real and which still need verification. Keep the original entry when making a correction so you understand why the comparison changed. Avoid rounding or editing a result just to make a trend look smoother.

Separate planning from official completion

AFT Ready helps calculate scores and prepare scorecards. Use current Army AFT resources for scoring and policy, and use the responsible officials’ process for official records. Before sharing a completed scorecard, use our export review checklist to check identity, dates and entries.

A useful progress log preserves the context of each result. That gives you a clearer discussion with your trainer or leader than a list of unexplained totals.