Attrition is way down over the last several years, but I disagree that it is because we have raised our entrance standards... Rather, it is because we almost never dis-enroll anyone, for anything. Back in the day of the 50% attrition, it was pretty easy to get dis-enrolled... especially if you had a problem with integrity. Cheating on an exam, or lying to your section advisor was a quick ticket out of the program and directly to the fleet. Nowadays, we do have students who cheat, and get caught, and so long as they are repentant and up-front about it, they go see the captain and are retained. Perhaps this is a better way.... Can you be taught integrity? Or at least have a higher standard instilled in you once you've reached "adulthood" (18-22)? Academically, some students who would have never made it through back then do make it now... Re-comps, for example, are almost automatic. And should you fail the re-comp, you still have a great chance for a follow on ack-board.
So, are we better off now than we used to be? Well, several things are in motion... One, the economy in recent years has been down. Two, enlisment and retention bonuses are huge. Three, there are war zones where you can re-enlist tax free, always a big incentive. Finally, the pipeline has pumped many more people into the fleet, so manning is up, and duty rotations are down, causing quality of life to be up... (follow me?) Then end result is that retention has climbed, demand for nukes is down somewhat, and we can be more choosey, and get our yearly quotas filled earlier. However, I don't think this results in a better product to the fleet.
Are we actually demanding higher ASVAB scores, higher NFQT scores, and less waivers, or are we just taking the same folks we always have, (don't get me wrong, very intelligent folks), and filling our quotas earlier, and then taking what's left and sending them to other jobs in the Navy?