A study examined the information collected by the Department of Defense on both the quality of its new recruits and the effectiveness of its training in preparing recruits to operate in a technologically sophisticated environment. It found that data were collected at a recruit's entrance to military life, during and upon completion of formal training, and after assignment to a military specialty in the field. The study showed that for most recruits, the services' selection criteria are moderately successful at predicting individual performance during classroom technical training. However, they are notably less successful for women and minority recruits. Each service has evaluation mechanisms in place, but only the Army systematically collects data on the field performance of individual graduates in a way that would allow comparison of a graduate's on-the-job performance with entry-level ability and classroom performance. These data reveal an even weaker connection for women and minority group members between criteria used to assign them to technical specialties and their later field performance. The field evaluation practices of the Navy are particularly fragmented and have deteriorated during the 1980s. The lack of reliable field performance data in the Navy and the Air Force makes realistic assessment of training effectiveness impossible. The study also found that the quality of recruits in respect to education increased during the early 1980s, but leveled off later in the decade. (KC)